From customers to prosumers: PV systems impact on residential load profiles, peak power, and coincidence

This study investigates the impact of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on electricity consumption and grid dynamics in Norwegian households. Using hourly smart meter data from 81 households, the study compares two years before and after PV system installation to quantify changes in load profiles, feed-in electricity, coincidence factors, and aggregated peak power. The results reveal seasonal and daily variations in feed-in and grid load, with higher feed-in during summer months. The study also highlights challenges posed by the coincidence of feed-in across households, potentially leading to higher aggregated feed-in peaks than grid load peaks. Strategies such as self-consumption optimization can help mitigate grid challenges as the number of prosumers increases. In addition, energy curtailment, such as at a 60% feed-in-to-PV capacity ratio could reduce the feed-in peak and only curtail 2% of the yearly feed-in for prosumers in average, with higher losses at lower ratios.