Coordinated price-based control of modulating heat pumps for practical demand response and peak shaving in building clusters

• Published in: Energy and buildings Vol. 324; p. 114940
• Main Authors: Langner, Felix, Kovačević, Jovana, Zwickel, Philipp, Dengiz, Thomas, Frahm, Moritz, Waczowicz, Simon, Çakmak, Hüseyin K., Matthes, Jörg, Hagenmeyer, Veit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.12.2024
• Subjects: Building cluster; Demand response; Model predictive control; Peak shaving; Rule-based control; Smart grid; Thermal building model; Model predictive control; Thermal building model; Peak shaving; Rule-based control; Building cluster; Demand response; Smart grid
• ISSN: 0378-7788
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114940

With a high share of renewable energy in the power grid, it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure a continuous balance between power generation and consumption, thereby endangering grid stability. A substantial opportunity to address this challenge and align the heating demand with intermittent power production is offered by space heating and domestic hot water, which account for 80% of the energy consumption in buildings. Further research on the control of building clusters is required, where peak load management of multiple buildings can ensure grid stability during peak hours and contribute to avoiding power outages. In this paper, a rule-based controller is presented, called Extended Price Storage Control+ (EPSC+), for the practical and flexible operation of heating systems in a building cluster. Under dynamic pricing, the loads of electric heating devices for the provision of space heating and domestic hot water are shifted by EPSC+ while accounting for peak load constraints. The performance of EPSC+ is evaluated in a nine-week winter simulation study with a building cluster of ten buildings in Germany. For comparison, a hierarchical model predictive controller (MPC) and a hysteresis two-point controller are employed as benchmarks. Results close to those of MPC are achieved by EPSC+by reducing the median peak load by 38.8% and median electricity costs by 15% compared with the hysteresis controller. In contrast to MPC, EPSC+ does not require models, forecasts, or optimization and is computationally inexpensive, rendering it more attainable for real-world implementation. •New control algorithm for heat pumps being price-based, model-free, and forecast-free.•The algorithm coordinates heat pumps at building cluster level.•The proposed control cuts electricity costs by 15% while avoiding high peak loads.•Peak load reductions of 38.8% are achieved.