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ABSTRACT
The overall objective of the project is to develop datasets that measure the holistic load flexibility performance of a suite of commonly-used commercial building HVAC and thermal storage equipment using a hardware-in-the-loop test method. The development of the software side of the hardware-in-the-loop flexible load testbed is summarized in this paper.
INTRODUCTION
Extensive research has shown that buildings and building equipment can provide flexible electrical loads to improve grid resilience and overall efficiency and reduce peak demand [1]. However, existing research has mostly focused on developing enabling technologies such as control strategies [2]. The time-varying value of flexible loads and energy conservation measures, which are affected by both the time-varying value of electricity and the end-use load shape, energy savings shape, and control, is not well-studied. As a result, considerations of the impact of energy systems on peak demand reduction and grid resilience have been limited [3]. Based on a recent literature review performed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) [3], there is a lack of publicly available datasets with high resolution on end-use load and energy savings shape. Limited existing data are concentrated regionally and are largely in the residential sector; there is a lack of hourly load and energy savings shape data that focus on HVAC systems for commercial buildings, especially under different climate zones and grid programs. There has been little non-residential end-use data research since the End Use Load and Consumer Assessment Program (ELCAP) study [3], and existing data often suffer from poor accuracy and low transferability since HVAC load data are weather-sensitive. There is a need for load flexibility data that considers: 1) equipment load characteristics under a wide range of operating conditions and control strategies; 2) interactions between HVAC systems, occupants, and the...