Modeling and analysis of the electricity consumption profile of the residential sector in Spain

The determination of electricity consumption profiles in the domestic sector is a very complicated task due to the variability of the consumer. This sector covers a wide variety of sizes and types of consumers; it has, as well, a wide variability in the occupancy of homes, and therefore, the measurement of final consumption has a very high cost. In this article a new bottom-up stochastic simulation model is presented, nourished by data provided by the Survey of Time Employment of the National Institute of Statistics of Spain (INE). The algorithm permits an estimation of the average profile of regular electricity consumption in Spain according to the number of members of the house and the day of the week. Unlike some previous research, the average profile is studied, and all household uses are separated. These results are the basis of a line of research on self-consumption, but they are also useful as the basis for many other studies on energy consumption, energy efficiency, demand management, hourly rates, energy policies, etc.