EDGIE: A simulation test-bed for investigating the impacts of building and vehicle electrification on distribution grids

Abstract

Replacing fossil-fueled appliances and vehicles with electric versions can significantly reduce emissions. However, electric heating and vehicle charging can cause peaks in electricity demand that stress infrastructure in buildings and power grids, jeopardizing reliability or forcing costly infrastructure upgrades. This paper presents the open-source EDGIE (Emulating the Distribution Grid Impacts of Electrification) toolbox. EDGIE matches experiment data from an all-electric home in cold weather. It can simulate many locations and levels of technology adoption, and supports optimization and network power flow simulation. In simulations of a fully electrified neighborhood during the coldest week of 2019 in New York, demand peaks at quadruple today's summer peak. Peaks are particularly sensitive to the use of overnight thermostat set-point reductions and to the efficiencies of heat pumps and building envelopes. Optimal vehicle-to-home coordination with flexible space and water heating reduces peak demand by 35% and transformer degradation by 99%.