A Comparison Between Different Optimization Techniques for Energy Scheduling in Smart Home Environment

Nowadays a correct use of energy is a crucial aspect, in fact cost and energy waste reduction are the main goals that must be achieved. To reach this objective an optimal energy management must be obtained through some techniques and optimization algorithms, in order to provide the best solution in terms of cost. In this work a comparison between different methods for energy scheduling is proposed and some analytical results are reported, in order to offer a clear overview for each technique, in terms of advantages and disadvantages. A residential scenario is considered for computer simulations, in which a system storage and renewable resources are available and exploitable to match the user load demand. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.