Phase Oscillator Model for De-synchronization of Thermostatically Controlled Loads

Thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) are a valuable resource for providing demand flexibility to the power system through demand response (DR) programs. One of the ways of attaining demand flexibility is by manipulating the set point temperatures to achieve aggregate power reduction following a centrally broadcasted signal by the utility. These set point changes though leading to DR management may lead to synchronization of ON/OFF cycle of loads which is undesirable. In this work the author proposes a novel Kuramoto based phase oscillator framework to provide distributed phase locking using time delays and thereby de-synchronization. The model is articulated for homogeneous, heterogeneous and population of TCLs and the results are verified using computer simulations. Also, it has been shown how such model can be realized using Boolean fundamentals and hence allow room for practical implementation.