AI-Powered Home Electrical Appliances as Enabler of Demand-Side Flexibility

In the digitalization era, the increasing number of connected appliances and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) enabled a new realm of possibilities in the residential energy sector, including the chance for a consumer to play an active role in flexibility programs. We talk about demand-side flexibility (DSF) when a consumer adapts his/her energy consumption behavior in response to variable energy prices or market incentives. The procedure depends on a two-way communication between an energy supplier and a customer, and his/her willingness to act on the electricity consumption. The success of the different DSF approaches is strongly related to the estimation of appliance usage patterns and AI techniques represent a viable solution.