Wireless Demand Response Controls for HVAC Systems

The objectives of this scoping study were to develop and test control software and wireless hardware that could enable closed-loop, zone-temperature-based demand response in buildings that have either pneumatic controls or legacy digital controls that cannot be used as part of a demand response automation system. We designed a SOAP client that is compatible with the Demand Response Automation Server (DRAS) being used by the IOUs in California for their CPP program, design the DR control software, investigated the use of cellular routers for connecting to the DRAS, and tested the wireless DR system with an emulator running a calibrated model of a working building. The results show that the wireless DR system can shed approximately 1.5 Watts per design CFM on the design day in a hot, inland climate in California while keeping temperatures within the limits of ASHRAE Standard 55: Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.