Coordination and Control of Building HVAC Systems to Provide Frequency Regulation to the Electric Grid

Mohammed M. Olama, Teja Kuruganti, James Nutaro and Jin Dong
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Mohammed M. Olama: Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
Teja Kuruganti: Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
James Nutaro: Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
Jin Dong: Energy and Transportation Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: Buildings consume 73% of electricity produced in the United States and, currently, they are largely passive participants in the electric grid. However, the flexibility in building loads can be exploited to provide ancillary services to enhance the grid reliability. In this paper, we investigate two control strategies that allow Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems in commercial and residential buildings to provide frequency regulation services to the grid while maintaining occupants comfort. The first optimal control strategy is based on model predictive control acting on a variable air volume HVAC system (continuously variable HVAC load), which is available in large commercial buildings. The second strategy is rule-based control acting on an aggregate of on/off HVAC systems, which are available in residential buildings in addition to many small to medium size commercial buildings. Hardware constraints that include limiting the switching between the different states for on/off HVAC units to maintain their lifetimes are considered. Simulations illustrate that the proposed control strategies provide frequency regulation to the grid, without affecting the indoor climate significantly.

Keywords: ancillary service; frequency regulation; demand response; commercial/residential buildings; HVAC systems; model predictive control; rule-based control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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