Overview of the current state of research on characteristics and algorithms of energy management systems in households and buildings

Abstract

The decentralization of energy supply and the fluctuating feed-in from renewable energies lead to an increasing need to generate electricity and heat locally and efficiently. Therefore, different energy systems are used together at building level. Consequently, energy management systems (EMSs) in the building sector and households are becoming increasingly complex and are facing new challenges. To face these challenges, EMSs are required to enable efficient and combined operation of multiple energy systems and components. The increasing research into EMS is leading to a growing field of research with different characteristics, objectives, and algorithms. However, the resulting diversification of the research topic is accompanied by a lack of transparency. Therefore, this article is the first to provide a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of the state of research. For this purpose, 98 relevant publications are quantitatively evaluated. This article focuses on methods, model characteristics, optimization objectives, price structures, observation horizon, and components and devices used of EMS. The detailed evaluation of these topics creates a high level of transparency in EMS research to provide precise insights into current research priorities and potential weaknesses, to allow researchers to classify their own work and to identify potential research topics. Highlights: For the first time, a quantitative study on EMS research is presented The evaluation of 98 relevant publications provides detailed insights Insights about methods, characteristics, objectives, prices, horizons, and components Detailed graphical evaluations for each sub-area of the study.