# Techno-Economic Analysis of the Peak Shifting Strategy Based on Time-of-Use Tariff for Cold Stores
###### Abstract  
The energy consumption in the cold store is growing day by day, 70% of which is consumed by the refrigeration system. Meanwhile, a significant amount of electricity generated by power plants is wasted during off-peak periods. Demand-side management (DSM) provides a viable solution for addressing the problem of the time and space inconsistency between energy supply and consumption, hence improving overall system efficiency. In this paper, an artificial intelligence model is developed for accurate cooling load forecasting. On this basis, a peak shifting control strategy with two optional modes combining temperature setpoint control and operation mode control is then proposed to realize cost reductions. Taking a large-scale cold store as a case study, the cooling capacity supply and temperature variation within two typical working days are investigated to illustrate the feasibility and applicability of the strategy. Detailed thermodynamic and thermo-economic analyses of the proposed strategy are then carried out to demonstrate the control effect. The results show that both modes have good peaking performances and the average cost reduction rate of the two modes reaches 40% and 13.4%, respectively. cold store refrigeration system; peak shifting; LSTM prediction; intelligent control; energy-saving operation +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
has been illustrated by many studies [13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20]. High thermal inertia is the most critical property that can be used as an energy storage medium. Studies conducted in the food and pharmaceutical industries have proven that short-term temperature overshoots or fluctuations have little effect on product quality [21; 22; 23; 24; 25]. Therefore, in the case of large-scale cold stores with high storage capacity, products can be used as the natural energy storage medium when peak shifting, and this is also an economic choice as it there is no additional equipment required [26]. [PERSON] et al. [23] conducted an experimental investigation on the application of demand response (DR) in a food cold store. The findings indicate that DR can relieve the strain on the power grid, and energy consumption can be reduced while maintaining product quality. To explore the application of the ice storage systems in libraries, [PERSON] et al. [27] theoretically investigated the cost-saving effect under different storage strategies using TRNSYS software. It was revealed that all of the proposed strategies can achieve good economic results, with up to 60% cost savings. Similarly, a combined model, including the product finite element model and the cooling load model, was developed by [PERSON] et al. [24] for a cold store whose correction was accomplished through several days of experimental data. Furthermore, the corrected model was used to study the effect of load shifting, and it showed that a cost reduction of 37-53% could be realized without affecting product quality. [PERSON] and [PERSON] et al. [28; 29] verified the effect of peak shifting under the strategy of setting the pre-cooling temperature and pre-cooling time from the perspective of experiments and simulations, respectively, and the results showed that the strategy can achieve an effective reduction in peak demand. To summarize, shifting cooling loads to achieve cost savings has become a popular research topic, and numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness. However, much of the existing research on peaking control strategies has focused on commercial buildings rather than cold stores, which would be more challenging because the temperature needs to be maintained within a suitable temperature range all day rather than that only during working hours. Furthermore, existing control strategies can be categorized into two main types. The first type, temperature setpoint control, aims to optimize the pre-cooling temperature to achieve maximum economic performance.