Clustering Direct Load Control Appliances in the Context of Demand Response Programs in Energy Communities

The demand response program explained in this article is designed to be implemented in communities seeking to achieve a self-sustaining system, namely through renewable energy such as photovoltaic energy. This article, through concepts such as prosumer and clustering, aims to make the most efficient management of the resources provided by the energy community. The developed demand response clusters the different consumers who have the same type of consumption throughout the day. That is, it brings together those whose behavior of the respective loads resemble each other and can be viewed from the perspective of an individual load or even clustered with one or more loads. The study comprises three villages with different numbers of consumers and charges, where, through their participation, it is estimated that there are reductions in electricity bills and, for those who collaborated for the study, it is attributed a remuneration according to their performance.This work has received funding from Portugal 2020 under SPEAR project (NORTE - 01 - 0247 - FEDER - 040224) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through (FCT) under the project UIDB/00760/2020, CEECIND/02887/2017, and SFRH/BD/144200/201