Demand side management in refrigeration applications

The refrigeration sector represents an important field of application for demand side management (DSM) strategies. For DSM are intended all those actions addressed to modify the final user's electricity consumption. Considering that refrigeration and air conditioning electricity consumption represent about 17% of the total electricity demand and taking into account the growing market of heat pumps, it is clear the central role of this sector for the implementation of management strategies on demand side. There are already several examples of feasible DSM technologies referred to refrigeration, including thermal energy storage systems, energy efficient devices or control systems by means of which the utility communicates with the final users. Purpose of this paper is to analyze the present state of the art in this field in order to categorize the applications (in terms of technology and range of temperature), list the existing implementation and provide a way to assess the potential flexibility provided to the power system. The results of this work are considered relevant to highlight the importance of refrigeration sector in such context and, thus, to boost the penetration of DSM strategies.