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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Real-time automated building control and real-time pricing: An effective combination

Book ·
OSTI ID:192136
Real-time pricing (RTP) of electric power is a significant innovation towards improved economic efficiency in electric rate design. Real-time pricing is an hourly based kWh rate that reflects the time varying cost of generating and transmitting electricity. Demand charges are typically very small under RTP rate structures. These rates are typically forecasted a day in advance by utilities, but can be forecasted in as little as -an hour ahead. Most utilities electronically transmit the 24 hour sets of forecasted electric prices to customers by the afternoon of the preceding day they take effect. Other utilities supply their customers with an already defined set of prices that are triggered by external conditions. By providing customers with an hourly based day ahead electric price, the optimal energy purchase decision can be made. This in turn, provides customers with the opportunity to reduce electricity costs by minimizing their consumption during those hours when the real-time prices are the highest. The objective of this paper is to detail the development and implementation of an automated energy control system which enables commercial customers to respond to RTP with limited human intervention. We will discuss the following: (1) How real-time pricing customers typically implement manual control strategies; (2) Background on the New York Marriott Marquis hotel and San Francisco Marriott Moscone Center hotel (herein referred to as the Marriott Marquis and Marriott Moscone) test sites; (3) All aspects of the automated control programs at both hotels; and (4) Results, conclusions, and future extensions of the automated control program.
OSTI ID:
192136
Report Number(s):
CONF-940129--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English