Smart and energy-efficient buildings

Description of project objectives:

Efficiency through control: Buildings consume about 75% of electricity in the U.S. and account for one third of total energy consumption as well as CO2 emissions. Close to half of the energy used in buildings is due to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting (HVAC&L). Improving operational efficiency of HVAC systems will lead to large savings in the energy consumption. Since already-constructed buildings will account for the majority of buildings even by 2050, new buildings with “green designs” will have a limited impact on the energy consumption of the nation in the immediate future. Improving efficiency through “retrofitting”, however, can have an immediate and significant impact. One of the most cost effective forms of retrofitting is changes in the control algorithms that operate the building. The challenge is that fundamentally new control algorithms are required that can reduce energy use yet provide healthy and comfortable indoor environment to the occupants. Commercial buildings, in particular, are likely to benefit greatly from improvements in control algorithms. As part of this project, we are developing novel sensors, control algorithms, and information management systems to improve operational energy efficiency of commercial buildings. With the help of University of Florida (UF) administration and Physical Plants Division, the technology is being tested in a LEED certified building (Pugh Hall) in the UF campus at Gainesville, FL.

Buildings helping the grid: Buildings also present an unique opportunity as flexible loads that can be controlled to provide “high frequency” ancillary services to the electric power grid. Due to the high thermal inertia of large commercial buildings, the operation of their HVAC systems can be controlled in real-time to reduce or increase electricity demand as required for grid stability. Though the flexibility offered by an individual building is small, all the buildings collectively present an enormous opportunity. With higher penetration of renewable energy sources that are intermittent and uncertain, such flexibility will be crucial in ensuring stable operation of the electric grid. The control algorithms that provide this flexibility may not make the buildings more efficient, in fact they may occasionally make the buildings consume more energy than needed to operate the building. However, we believe this technology will lead to efficiency in a broader sense, by enabling deeper penetration of alternative energy sources and thereby reducing our dependency on carbon emitting fossil fuels.

Acknowledgements:

NSF: The project is funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation, by its Cyber Physical Systems Program and the PCAN (Power, Control, and Adaptive Networks) program
UF: without the help and support of UF administration and UF Physical Plants Division, the technology demonstration part of the project would not have been possible.

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