TY - JOUR KW - Power system planning KW - Dispersed storage and generation KW - Power system economics KW - Cogeneration KW - Building management systems KW - Cooling KW - Cost optimal control KW - Buildings KW - Optimization methods KW - Distributed control AU - Chris Marnay AU - Giri Venkataramanan AU - Michael Stadler AU - Afzal S Siddiqui AU - Ryan M Firestone AU - Bala Chandran AB -

The deployment of small ( < 1-2 MW ) clusters of generators, heat and electrical storage, efficiency investments, and combined heat and power (CHP) applications (particularly involving heat-activated cooling) in commercial buildings promises significant benefits but poses many technical and financial challenges, both in system choice and its operation; if successful, such systems may be precursors to widespread microgrid deployment. The presented optimization approach to choosing such systems and their operating schedules uses Berkeley Lab's Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), extended to incorporate electrical and thermal storage options. DER-CAM chooses annual energy bill minimizing systems in a fully technology-neutral manner. An illustrative example for a hypothetical San Francisco hotel is reported. The chosen system includes one large reciprocating engine and an absorption chiller providing an estimated 11% cost savings and 8% carbon emission reductions under idealized circumstances.

BT - IEEE Transactions on Power Systems DA - 08/2008 DO - 10.1109/TPWRS.2008.922654 IS - 3 LA - eng M1 - 3 N2 -

The deployment of small ( < 1-2 MW ) clusters of generators, heat and electrical storage, efficiency investments, and combined heat and power (CHP) applications (particularly involving heat-activated cooling) in commercial buildings promises significant benefits but poses many technical and financial challenges, both in system choice and its operation; if successful, such systems may be precursors to widespread microgrid deployment. The presented optimization approach to choosing such systems and their operating schedules uses Berkeley Lab's Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), extended to incorporate electrical and thermal storage options. DER-CAM chooses annual energy bill minimizing systems in a fully technology-neutral manner. An illustrative example for a hypothetical San Francisco hotel is reported. The chosen system includes one large reciprocating engine and an absorption chiller providing an estimated 11% cost savings and 8% carbon emission reductions under idealized circumstances.

PY - 2008 SP - 975 EP - 982 T2 - IEEE Transactions on Power Systems TI - Optimal Technology Selection and Operation of Commercial-Building Microgrids VL - 23 SN - 0885-8950 ER -