Feature Request: Support for Fractional Hours in operating_hours_of_each_deferrable_load

[martinarva]

Describe the bug
Currently, the operating_hours_of_each_deferrable_load parameter in EMHASS only accepts scheduling inputs in full hours. For high-power devices, such as an EV charger, the inability to specify fractional hours limits scheduling precision. This becomes especially important when timesteps are smaller (e.g., 15 minutes), as rounding to a full hour can cause significant inefficiencies in energy use.

Expected behavior
Allow operating_hours_of_each_deferrable_load to accept fractional hour inputs, rounded to the nearest timestep. Since EMHASS already recognizes the timestep (e.g., 15 minutes), it could automatically round fractional hours to align with the specified timestep. For example, an input of 1.25 hours would be interpreted as 1 hour and 15 minutes when using 15-minute timesteps, rather than being rounded down to 1 hour.

Additional context
This enhancement would provide users with greater control over load scheduling, maximizing energy optimization, particularly for devices with high power draw. For instance, consider an 11 kW EV charger:
• Scheduling for 1 hour results in an energy consumption of 11 kWh.
• Scheduling for 1 hour and 15 minutes (1.25 hours) results in approximately 13.75 kWh.
• In contrast, rounding down to 1 hour when 1.25 hours is needed would mean insufficient charging, while rounding up to 2 hours could nearly double the energy draw.