An Automatic Aggregator of Power Flexibility in Smart Buildings Using Software Based Orchestration

Area of Science:

• Energy Systems Engineering
• Smart Grid Technology
• Building Automation

Background:

• Global trends show increasing thermal energy use in buildings, contributing to peak power demands.
• Buildings are integral to smart grid infrastructure, necessitating optimized energy consumption and flexibility.
• Bottom-up Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) are crucial for managing energy use and enabling demand-side flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a software-based, modular, and hierarchical Building Energy Management System (BEMS).
• To demonstrate the system's capability in controlling power consumption in sensor-equipped buildings.
• To address the need for flexible power capacity and demand-side flexibility in smart grid environments.

Main Methods:

• Development of a hierarchical and modular BEMS architecture.
• Aggregation of controls for all controllable resources within a building.
• Implementation of discovery, status check, control, and management for networked loads.
• Handling hardware heterogeneity and dynamic network changes with scalability.

Main Results:

• The BEMS effectively aggregates and controls 'behind-the-meter' loads for demand-side flexibility.
• The system demonstrates low maintenance requirements due to its ability to handle hardware heterogeneity and network changes.
• Control execution latency is under one second per connected load, including data logging.
• The system can override external controls to maintain occupant comfort within temperature thresholds.

Conclusions:

• The developed BEMS offers a scalable and robust solution for managing building energy consumption and enhancing grid flexibility.
• The system's ability to handle diverse hardware and dynamic networks reduces post-deployment maintenance.
• Future work can leverage the system for estimating stored thermal energy, enabling buildings to act as temporary energy storage units.