Model-based demand-limiting control of building thermal mass

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a model-based approach for minimizing peak cooling demand using energy storage inherent in building structures. On any day where the strategy is invoked, the building is precooled with zone temperature setpoints at the low end of comfort prior to a demand-limiting (DL) period. The zone temperatures are then adjusted upwards during the demand-limiting period following a trajectory that keeps the peak cooling load below a specified target. The cooling demand target and setpoint trajectory are determined using a building model that is trained using field data. The overall approach was demonstrated for a building representative of a small commercial facility. The first step involved training the inverse model using a few weeks of hourly data. The model was then used to study the potential for peak load reduction and to determine setpoint trajectories that were implemented at the site. The demand-limiting strategy resulted in approximately 30% reductions in peak cooling loads compared to night setup control for a 5-h on-peak period of 1 PM to 6 PM.