Demand Responsive and Energy Efficient Control Technologies and Strategies in Commercial Buildings

摘要

Commercial buildings account for a large portion of summer peak electric demand. Research results show that there is significant potential to reduce peak demand in commercial buildings through advanced control technologies and strategies. However, a better understanding of commercial buildings contribution to peak demand and the use of energy management and control systems is required to develop this demand response resource to its full potential. The main objectives of the study were: (1) To evaluate the size of contributions of peak demand commercial buildings in the U.S.; (2) To understand how commercial building control systems support energy efficiency and DR; and (3) To disseminate the results to the building owners, facility managers and building controls industry. In order to estimate the commercial buildings contribution to peak demand, two sources of data are used: (1) Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and (2) National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). These two sources indicate that commercial buildings non-coincidental peak demand is about 330GW. The project then focused on technologies and strategies that deliver energy efficiency and also target 5-10% of this peak. Based on a building operations perspective, a demand-side management framework with three main features: (1) daily energy efficiency, (2) daily peak load management and (3) dynamic, event-driven DR are outlined. A general description of DR, its benefits, and nationwide DR potential in commercial buildings are presented. Case studies involving these technologies and strategies are described.