Peak Power Minimization for Commercial Thermostatically Controlled Loads in Multi-Unit Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Journal Article · 10 January 2022 · IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/tste.2022.3140655 · OSTI ID:1862677

Naqvi, Syed Raza  ^[1]; Kar, Koushik  ^[1]; Bhattacharya, Saptarshi  ^[2]; Chandan, Vikas  ^[2]

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1. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)
2. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

The load profiles of most commercial and industrial consumers are characterized by brief periods of very high power consumption followed by intervals of lower demand. To encourage such consumers to flatten their load profiles, power utilities in and around the world often levy a monthly demand charge (DC) on the peak demand measured over brief intervals. In this work, we consider the joint optimization of energy costs (EC) and the instantaneous peak power of a multi-unit building which uses a hydronic heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system and responds to a demand response (DR) program. Despite the non-linear structure of the problem, we show how optimal solutions can be obtained efficiently using linear programming. Next, we study the power demand patterns resulting from our proposed strategy for thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs), and evaluate the strategy’s performance for various climate zones in the US, under both typical and atypical weather conditions. Finally, the results show that depending on the ambient conditions and the tariff structure, our strategy can result in utility bill savings of up to nearly 19% compared to the baseline. The results also indicate that our power control strategy can significantly reduce the instantaneous peak power consumption in commercial TCLs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1862677
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-162501
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 13; ISSN 1949-3029
• Publisher: IEEECopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English