Enhancing energy flexibility of building clusters via supervisory room temperature control: Quantification and evaluation of benefits
Published:
The electric grid faces increasing challenges in the context of electrification and renewable energy integration, gradually evolving into a smart grid. Buildings could facilitate this energy transition by providing flexibility services to the grid. Existing research on building energy flexibility has mostly focused on single buildings due to the difficulty of modelling buildings at the urban scale. This paper adopts an archetype-based approach to model generic building clusters, targeting various building types, compositions, and cluster sizes. We applied this approach to a case study cluster of 54 buildings. With the cluster model, we then characterized its operational flexibility associated with two rule-based room temperature controls. Simulation results show that the building cluster achieves 22-27% peak demand reduction on average against its regular operation throughout a series of flexibility events. We also evaluated the financial benefits of the flexibility service in an incentive program from a Canadian utility; an economic return of over $40,000 per winter was obtained for the building cluster. This work demonstrates the operational energy flexibility value in building clusters, benefiting not only the grid operator but also building owners.
Recommended citation: Kun Zhang, Etienne Saloux, José A. Candanedo. Enhancing energy flexibility of building clusters via supervisory room temperature control: Quantification and evaluation of benefits. Energy and Buildings. 2023. 113750. ISSN 0378-7788,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113750