Unlocking Energy Flexibility From Thermal Inertia of Buildings: A Robust Optimization Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-step robust optimization method to unlock and activate buildings' energy flexibility considering external uncertainties, improving peak energy reduction compared to traditional price-based methods.

Contribution

It presents a novel two-step approach combining robust assessment and activation of energy flexibility, addressing external uncertainties more effectively than existing single-step schemes.

Findings

Achieves greater peak energy reduction than price-based management

Effectively manages external uncertainties in demand response

Validated on high-fidelity Modelica simulations

Abstract

Towards integrating renewable electricity generation sources into the grid, an important facilitator is the energy flexibility provided by buildings' thermal inertia. Most of the existing research follows a single-step price- or incentive-based scheme for unlocking the flexibility potential of buildings. In contrast, this paper proposes a novel two-step design approach for better harnessing buildings' energy flexibility. In a first step, a robust optimization model is formulated for assessing the energy flexibility of buildings in the presence of uncertain predictions of external conditions, such as ambient temperature, solar irradiation, etc. In a second step, energy flexibility is activated in response to a feasible demand response (DR) request from grid operators without violating indoor temperature constraints, even in the presence of uncertain external conditions. The proposed approach is tested on a high-fidelity Modelica simulator to evaluate its effectiveness. Simulation results show that, compared with price-based demand-side management, the proposed approach achieves greater energy reduction during peak hours.