Modeling of electricity savings in the Danish household sector using Balmorel

In this paper we examine the investments in energy-efficient household appliances from an energy system perspective. We consider a set of ten appliances constituting the majority of the electricity consumption in the private household sector, and investigate whether investing in improved energy efficiency can compete with the cost of electricity supply from existing or new power plants.

To assess the analysis, Balmorel, a linear optimization model for heat and power sectors, has been extended in order to assess the best possible investments in more efficient household appliances. The model is non-exclusively tested on the Danish energy system under different scenarios, and computational experiments show that several energy efficiency measures in the household sector should be regarded as valuable investments, while others would require some form of support to become profitable.

The analysis also reveals the impact that changes in the Danish electricity consumption would have on the surrounding countries in terms of power system configuration and emission reduction.