Study of Building Demand Response Method Based on Indoor Temperature Setpoint Control of VRV Air Conditioning

Demand response has been attracting increasing attention due to the promotion of renewable energy applications and the benefits of carbon emission reduction it brings for the utility grid. The development of the smart grid pays great attention to investigating reliable demand response technologies provided by energy users. Buildings are energy users with high-level load regulation capacity and energy flexibility, which indicates they have the potential to conduct demand response services to achieve power regulation targets for the grid. This paper presents the latest investigation of a building demand response method based on indoor temperature setpoint control of air conditioning systems. The proposed method can be adopted for all air conditioning systems with basic feedback control functions and communication protocol in buildings. A load prediction model which considers impacts of temperatures and building thermal characteristics is developed. An on-site test in an office building is implemented to validate the effects of the proposed method in a temporary demand response case. Results show that about 40% of the air conditioning rated load is reduced while 26.8% of the energy consumption is saved during the demand response event, which earns substantial economic benefits for building users.

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