Residential Electric Power Systems: Implications for Distributed Generation
Jason Higbee*, Jeremy Brehm**, P. K. Sen and Ravel Ammerrnan
Colorado School of Mines
Division of Engineering
Colden, Colorado 80401
pseia(i4mines.edu
*Jason Higbee: Electrical Engineer, NEI Electric Power Engineering, Inc., Denver, CO
** Jeremy Brehm: Electrical Engineer, Carollo Engineers, Denver, CO (jbrehmacarollo.com)
Abstract: Over the past two decades, the electricity market
in the US has gone through major scrutiny and changes.
Most recentlv the blackout of 2003, high oil prices (over
$60/barrel) and restructuring and deregulation efforts have
cauised the electric power industry to take a fresh look. In
addition, energy sustainabilitv has also become a major
national concern.
The Residential and commercial power sectors use a
large part of the total energv produced by electricity. With
the advent of technologies like fuel cells, PV arrays, along
with the advancement of storage svstems, power
electronics and other distributed generation technologies,
it has been suggested that the fiture residential energy
infrastructure may be undergoing dramatic changes and
customers mav have some different options.
This paper has two main objectives: (1) Research on
the types of loads utilized in residential applications and
the characterization of the composite load characteristic,
and (2) Review the availability of cost effective small (3 kW
range) state-of-the-art distributed generation power
sources for such applications.
Key Words: Distributed Generation, Residential Power
System, Fuel Cell, Photovoltaics (PV), Stored Energy
Systems
I. Introduction, Overview and Motivation
Adequate and reliable supply of electricity, an
essential service in modem civilization, is taken for granted
by nearly everyone. At present in the United States,
approximately 40% of the total energy is utilized for the
production of electricity. Since fossil fuel (primarily coal
and steam power plant) constitutes the largest portion of
this electricity production, only about 13% (1/3rd of the
total input) of the total energy is available as useful
electricity (at an overall efficiency of about 33%).
Residential and commercial sector uses 20% of the
-
total energy of which about 8% comes from electricity and
the remaining 12% is primarily gas. Approx. 5% of the
0-7803-9255-8/05/$20.00 2005 IEEE
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energy is wasted. Electricity usage by this sector is
significant and is a very important issue.
The electricity market and the overall electric power
delivery system at present in USA are undergoing serious
changes. The massive blackout of 2003 also made the
entire nation including the policy makers think differently.
The deregulation and restructuring process of electric
power industry, over the past decade, is constantly
changing and evolving. The present state of these efforts is
one of unrest, resistance, political review and regional
debate due to uncertainty of industry "rules" (e.g., cost
recovery mechanisms) dictating how the industry should
operate. At present, the direction of the deregulation and
restructuring process remains unknown.
The primary benefit of deregulating the generation
sector was to lower the cost of electricity for the consumer
by promoting competition and being more environmentally
friendly. As a result, new generation technology was
developed resulting in smaller size units generating
cheaper electricity. Enactment of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978, allowed for the
first time, in the modem era of non-utility generators to
generate and supply electricity to the bulk power systems.
Also new technologies (including numerous renewable
energy applications) were developed to improve energy
efficiency and conservation. Due to variety of reasons,
however, the cost of electricity has quadrupled over the
past two decades and the reliability and security of electric
power supply is now being questioned.
Over the past two to three decades the electric power
industry has devoted very little time towards research and
development of newer technology and has minimized the
amount of capital investment utilized for the power system
infrastructure including: generation, bulk power
transmission and distribution systems. However, the
electricity usage has grown steadily (between 2-3%), while
the reserve margin (over 20% in the early 80's) for safe and
reliable operation has been depleted to an alarming low
level (estimated at below 6% at the emergency loading
condition).
 Due to the advent of consumer electronics in
household applications, residential loads and the
corresponding use of electricity has grown steadily over
the past two decades. In an average home (; 2,200 sq. ft.)
today in USA, the connected load is estimated between 10-
20 kW, and the peak demand is between 2-10 kW, which
includes a large number of small motors (garbage disposer,
vacuum cleaner, table fans, food processors, refrigeration,
heating-cooling-exhaust fans, drives, etc.). At present, the
average annual energy (electricity) usage per customer
varies from 12,000- 18,000 kWh.
Due to the current continued deregulation efforts and
government interventions, now there is a lot of public
pressure for the use of (sustainable) renewable energy and
distributed generation for residential loads. As an example,
in November 2004, the State of Colorado voters have
voiced their concern over the environment by enacting
Colorado Amendment 37, the "Renewable Energy
Standards Initiative." [1] Amendment 37 added Colorado
to the list of fifteen other states with similar regulations.
The Amendment requires any utility, which supplies power
to more than 40,000 customers within Colorado to supply
a percentage of their electrical load with renewable energy
resources. Examples from abroad, namely Denmark and
Germany, have demonstrated that up to 20% of electrical
power can be generated from renewable resources
economically and efficiently [1]. The Amendment which
goes into effect on March 315', 2006 will require qualifying
utilities to produce 10% of their total electrical energy
using permitted resources by the year 2015. Pennitted
renewable resources include; solar, wind, geothermal,
biomass and hydroelectricity (with a nameplate rating of
10 MW or less). Fuel cells using hydrogen derived from
these resources is also permitted. A final stipulation calls
for 4% of the requirement be produced using photovoltaics
and half of that (2%) be produced on the costumer's site.
However, the usage of the new technologies such as
fuel cells and photovoltaics (PV) for large scale power
generation is limited by the capital cost, reliability and
power handling capacity of commercially available
devices. This fact leaves the door open for small-scale high
efficiency (combined heat and power cycle or CHP)
distributed generation, preferably powered by renewable
and environmentally friendly fuels, to carry some of the
electric power load.
This paper will focus on the residential applications of
commercially available distributed generation technology
namely, PV, microturbine with CHP applications, fuel cell,
energy storage and hybrid technology. In order to design
the system properly, the most important issue is to
understand the residential loads (both individual and
composite).
476
11. Load Estimation
In order to design properly and implement a
distributed generation (DG) power system for residential
application, one must understand the characteristics of the
electrical loads to be supplied and quantify the needs. This
first phase of design, individual residential load
quantification, proved to be deceptively hard.
Most of the commonly used household electrical loads
and their corresponding power consumption range and
other relevant technical data are listed in the Appendix. As
can be seen, the power needed to supply electricity to the
residential loads covers a wide range. The results obtained
during this initial data collection phase will, however, be
refined future research to more accurately represent the
individual connected loads. This refinement could
potentially allow future home-owners to easily and
accurately estimate their connected load. Based on the
preliminary research and analysis that was conducted in the
load quantifying stages, it is determined that the heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is the
primary residential load (in those households with an
electric HVAC system). The pie chart (Fig. I) depicted
below shows the percentage breakdown of the total
connected load for the major household appliances [3].
While analysis of the power consumption for the
individual element of residential loads is an important
design parameter for the future development of any
distributed generation system in residential application, it
was also advantageous to consider the total residential
connected load in an attempt to discern an accurate and
Other' Heating and
1 5%% -69<45%
/
/ 7% > \ \ ~~~~~~WaterHeater
2% Computer & Washer & ) Refrigerator
2%Monitor
Dryer Dishwasher 6%
2% 10% 2%
Fig. 1: Typical residential electric load distribution[2]
nominal kW/sq. footage scaling factor. Obtaining a single
value for the kW/ft proved to be highly variable
challenging problem based on geographical location,
altemative energy sources (i.e. natural gas appliances), as
well as non-uniform electric appliance usage. Two
independent agencies: the Partnership for Advancing
Technology in Housing (PATH) [3] and the National
Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) [4], both have
obtained similar and reasonable estimates for the kW/ft2.
 well. If we work under the assumption of a typical house
oD~~~~~~~~~~ ........ . being 2,000 ft2, and we take the average annual usage from
O
s iE the PATH study shown if Fig. 2 to be 6 kWh/ft2, then the
... .. ... ... .. ... ... .. ... ..
average yearly electricity usage is 12,000 kWh/year.
As can be seen from the research conducted by these
two independent sources, the typical average annual
residential electric demand is less than 2 kW and the usage
is roughly 12,000 kWh/year for American homes. These
two numbers can therefore be used as a reasonable
.
estimate as the minimum that any residential distributed
generation system must be able to accommodate.
Nmit- Actual versus Estimated Average Load as a Function
Md Atlanti NY. PA. NJ of Residence Floor Area, Electrnc Appliance Saturation,
N,MV habgwl ML. Ni,ME. MA., RL CTi and Electric Heating-Cooling Type ...
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Fig. 2. PATH residential electric usage, broken down by a

ftRF
geographical location[3] 0
Esiue kW
1 f tfttJ*Jt
ttf Ctt

The research conducted by PATH, not surprisingly, shows

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(Fig. 2) that the residential power usage is largely c7f tc.s 0Xs r^f

geographically dependant; with those homes located in the

southern most states using substantially more electricity Fig. 3: NREL empirical test results estimated electric
than those of the other regions. This disproportionate demand (kW) [4]
power usage can most easily be explained by the larger air-
conditioning loads that are prevalent in these regions. The III. Electric Power System
values for residential energy consumption range between
4- 10 kWh/ft2. The new power distribution system for residential
customers that is being proposed requires a self-contained,
NREL, conducting similar research, also obtained stand-alone system that utilizes (or combines) renewable
comparable results when they looked at the actual versus energy technologies within an economically feasible
estimated average load as a function of residence floor framework. Possible energy sources include photovoltaic
area. Fig. 3 shows the results from their analysis and gives cells (PV), wind, solar thermal and biomass (mostly for
the empirically obtained algebraic load estimating equation heating), wind, and fuel cells. Stored energy systems
for connected load (kW) as a function of square footage. including batteries, ultra capacitors and UPS
As can be seen from the results of the study the data points (uninterruptible power supply) can also be implemented
correlate very well for homes with average loads of 2 kW with any of these to allow continuous power in emergency
and below showing that that the load estimating equation is or low-source conditions.
a reasonable approximation for connected loads of these
types. Many technologies stand out as being the best choice
for certain regions for a present-day solution. For example,
The correlation of the NREL data for homes with wind turbines may effectively augment power generation
average loads of 2 kW alludes to the fact that most to many homes within very gusty regions. The American
residential loads fall within this criteria, with the highest Wind Energy Association estimates a typical home wind
locus of points centered about 1.4 kW. Based on this system installed costs about $32,000 (10 kW machine or
analysis it can be shown that the typical residential $3,200/kW), whereas a comparable photovoltaic solar
electricity usage is approximately 12,000 kWh/year (1.4 system would cost over $80,000 ($8,000/kW) [5].
kW * 8760 hrs/year). A parallel to the PATH result can Unfortunately, a wind turbine system cannot adequately
also be derived from the results of the NREL studies as provide a solution for most typical households, as nearly all
residential sites are located within low-wind areas.

477
Biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric energies similarly Residential Fuel Celli Power Plant
Operating Pattern . . .

exclude themselves because of their lack of universal IFiTA l. lktk.

application for residential use. SR

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Photovoltaic (PV) cells stand out as the best possible O.,ms-ew

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PV system is economic. According to the Florida Solar

Energy Center, the current capital cost for a PV system is
t'*X :

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between $4,000-10,000 per peak kW. They estimate that
this cost will have to come down to $ 1,000/peak kW in
order to be competitive with an electric utility [5]. Thus, CoolIng fPe5el Ot
Se¢am Palste
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Waislorn Ul}lliOy
cCt
in order to reach this goal, firther research and
development must be done. Another hindrance to this Fig. 4: Residential Fuel Cell Typical Operating Scenario
technology can be the high surface area required to
generate sufficient power, as well as the outdoor elements In the last several years, fuel cell technology has been
that can jeopardize PV systems. However, with the rate of improving dramatically; it is expected in the near future to
technological advances and innovation, an economically be a standard for the production of electrical energy. This
solid solution is certainly on the horizon. technology has historically been best applied to continuous
loads, such as lighting or HVAC. However, with the
Another vehicle and possible solution for sustainable advent of improved UPS and battery storage units, the
residential systems is the fuel cell. This technology is an capability of fuel cells to function is dramatically
up-and-coming process that powers a system using improving to encompass a household load pattern (Fig. 4).
environmentally friendly fuels (a popular model combines
hydrogen and oxygen with water being the waste product). Further insight into the future can be gained from
This model has been implemented on large-scale projects scrutinizing an economic comparison done in 2001 of
and is gaining speed with its quiet operation, high common energy costs (Figure 5). For example, the total
efficiency, and environmentally-friendly qualities. A cost of using fuel cells (including fuel, maintenance, and
popular fuel cell manufacturer, FuelCell Energy, Inc. is equipment replacement) has decreased from 45-55 p/kWh
hoping to "reach a par with more traditional electricity to 13-15 p/kWh as technology has bolstered fuel cells just
source within two years" for large-scale systems [5]. in the period of four short years [5]. PV cells, CHP
Small-scale systems that can power self-contained technology, and wind systems are similarly going down in
residential systems will be sure to ride on the wings of price and will become very competitive.
these large-scale projects' successes.
Further technologies such as microturbines with CHP Energy
Source
Inmesbnent
of equetmoto
ifespan Cost offewl
of equipment before per kVh
Total Cost
perkWh, id.fuelb
(combined heat and power cycle) are also clever future gEnert1kW majoroerfeed or,
repcoenint
mainternaneand
equpment
technologies that increase efficiency-the power of these : : -: :4:; y: :; :: 0 reajacetent.:
new schemes is their ability to reuse otherwise wasted
energy; this can amount to extra power generation and NiCd
For portable use
$7,000
based on 7.2V, based on 1 C
1500 h $0.15
elecricity for
$7.50

substantial savings over time. 1 OOOmAh at $50/pack discharge charging

Gasoline $30 4000 h $0.10 $0.14
Engine based 0on
Each innovation - PV's, fuel cells, microturbines with For mobile us $3,000/100kW
(134HP)
CUP, stored energy systems, or UPS, is useful in its own Diesel Engine
For stationary use
$40
based on
5000 h $0.07 $0.10
application (with some limitations) toward a sustainable $4,000/1OOkW
(1 34HP)
self-contained residential distribution system. That is why Fuel Cell $3,000 -7,500 $0.35
the best solution that can be proposed would be a For portable use 2000 h $0.35 $1.85-4.10
combination design, or a "hybrid power System" model. For mobie use 4000 h $0.35 $1.10- 2.25
For example, PV Systems can generate electricity during For stationary use 40,000 h $0.35 $0.45 -0.55
sunny hours, while UPS and energy storage can supply a Electricity All inclusive AJI indusive 0.10 0.10
From electrc gnd
household at peak energy periods; fuel cells are able to
compensate during the night. CHP technology can be used
to recycle heat losses within the generation system to
produce a higher output, and UPS can take care of peak Fig. 5: Cost Comparison to generate one (kW) ofenergy,
demand as is shown in Fig. 4, a typical hybrid application taking into account the investment, fuel consumption,
of a fuel cell system with storage capabilities. maintenance and replacement of the equipment [6]

478
 V. Conclusions
The electricity market, at present, is going through
some major changes that will affect how the electricity will
be delivered to the individual homeowner in the
foreseeable future. The increasing costs of energy due to
the rise of oil prices (over $60 a barrel at present), the
vulnerability of oil supply, and the question of
sustainability are issues that engineers will have to deal
with in the very-near future. This paper evaluates the
proper applications of distributed generation currently
available for residential applications. Based on the state of
the current technology, it is now feasible to provide the
necessary electricity (at least partially) for residential
customers from PV and possibly fuel cells coupled with
UPS. Microturbine with a CHP application system is
probably more suitable for larger commercial customers.
Economically, the installed price for the available
distributed generation and renewable energy system is still
very high (almost by a factor 2-3 or higher), and therefore
cannot be justified at the present time. However, with the
increased cost of energy coupled with the advent of power
electronics and R&D efforts for renewable energy
applications, it is a realistic goal that the future power
supply for residential customers will fit into the model that
has been discussed in this paper. It is also clear that in order
to reduce electricity consumption and provide a workable
energy system that is highly sustainable, innovation and
prudent planning will be crucial in the years to follow.
VI. References
[1] R. Hubbard, et. al., "Future Energy Needs and
Sustainable Energy Applications for the Colorado
School of Mines (CSM) Campus: Needs for the Year
2020 and Beyond, A Capstone Senior Design Project,"
North American Power Symposium, Iowa State
University, Ames, Iowa, October, 2005.
[2]EnergyStar Homepage: What Does Mv Energy Bill Pay
For? Accessed May 2004.
http://wvww.enereystar.eov index.cfm'?c-products.prpie
[3] Toolbase Services: Review ofResidential Electrical
Energy Use Data. July 16, 2001.
http://www.toolbase.org/docs/MainNav/Energy/2974 Res
EnyUse.pdf
[4] NREL Residential Fuel Cell Demonstration Handbook
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy02osti/32455.pdf
[5] Richter, Allan. The Power ofFuel Cells. June 15,2005.
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/hi index.asp?page id=50
00&article id=4633
479
[6] Buchmann, Isidor. The Fuel Cell: Is It Readv? February
2001. http:,//wvw.buchmann-ca/Aiticle I-Page L.asp
[7] Kubo, Nadel, Sachs. 2001. Report Number A016.
Opportunities for New Appliance and Equipment
Efficiency Standards: Energy and Economic Savings
Beyond Current Standards Programs.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Colorado School of
Mines, the Center for Engineering Education and Director
Dr. Ruth Streveler for the opportunity to pursue
undergraduate research by providing scholarship funds.
This paper is written as a part of a research proposal.
Biographies
Jason Higbee graduated from the Colorado School of
Mines (CSM) in 2005 with a B.S. in Engineering
(Electrical Specialty) and a B.S. in Mathematics and
Computer Sciences. He is a registered EIT in the state of
Colorado and is currently working for NEI Electric Power
Engineering, Inc., a Consulting Firm, in Arvada, CO doing
power system engineering design. Currently Jason is
pursuing his Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering
(Power Option) at the Colorado School of Mines.
Jeremy Brehm graduated from the Colorado School of
Mines with a B.S. in Engineering (Electrical Specialty) in
the fall of 2004. He is currently working for Carollo
Engineers, a water and wastewater firm in Littleton, CO.
He is presently pursuing his Master's Degree in Electrical
Engineering (Power Option) at CSM.
Dr. P. K. Sen, Professor of Engineering at CSM, has over
39 years of combined teaching, research, and consulting
engineering experience. Prior to joining CSM, Dr. Sen
taught for 21 years at the University of Colorado. His
industrial experience includes power plants and substation
engineering design, system & feasibility studies and
various aspects of power systems engineering applications.
He is a Sr. Member of IEEE, and a Registered Professional
Engineer in the State of Colorado. His current research
interests include application problems in power, renewable
energy & distributed generation and power eng. education.
Ravel Ammerman received his BS in Engineering in
1981 at CSM and his MSEE (Power Systems and Control)
at the Univ. of Colorado in 1987. He has over 24 years
combined teaching and industrial experience. Mr.
Ammerman has coauthored several technical articles on
Eng. Education, Curriculum Development, and Computer
Applications related to Power Systems. Currently, Mr.
Ammerman is pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Engineering
Systems (Electrical Specialty - Power Systems) at CSM.
 Appendix All'
_____DAILY USAGE (H U S
LOADS J POWER, VOLTAGE, ETC ... J. <2 2-4] 4 -6 [f-i8j > 81
Appliances _________________
Dishwasher 200 - 400kWh/yr, AVG =345kWh/yr, l2OVac/ ___ ____
Dryer 700 - l OOkWh/yr, 24OVac_____ ____
Hot Water Heater 3 -7kW, 24OVac __ ___ ___ ___
Microwave 1000 - 1200W, l2OVac
Range/Oven io - 15kW 24OVac or 8 - 10kW, 2O8Vac_________
Refrigerator/Freezer 300 - 700kWh/vr, AVG =508kWh/vr, l2OVac_________
Washing Machine 200 - 45OkWh/yr, AVG =244kWh/yr, l2OVac/___ ____

Heating and Cooling

Standalone A/C I500 -900W, l2OVac____
Central N/C ____ ___
__CeilinqgFans I15 - 72W, 40 - §0kWy, 2Vac __ ___
Furnaces __________________

Electronics _________________
DVD Plye~r l2OVac ___
Audio_Equipment 100 -1 3OkWhyr l2OVac _ ___ ___

TV 50 -100OW, 130 - 15OkWh/yr, 12OVac ____$ ___

Set-Top Boxes 50 - 200kWhyr,.l2OVac ____9

Lightng(nl _ __ __ __ _
Fluorescent Lights 5 -300W, l2OVac ____9
Residential FixtUreSI 15 -300W, l2OVac____
Ceiling Fan 60 - 180W, AVG =217kWh/yr, l2OVac $____

Office Equipment _________________

q Computers (CPU) 20 - 6OkWh/yr, l2OVac ____
Computer Monitor 20- lOOkWh/yr, l2OVac ____ ____9
.Copiers 430 -
75OkWhIvr, I2OVac ____ ____
9

Faxes 140 31IOkWh/yr, I2OVac

- ____ ____9
Printers 140 - 32OkWh/vr, l2OVac_____9
.Scanners 12 - 37OkWh/yr,I2OVa------------------_

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