Cooling of commercial buildings contributes significantly to the peak demand placed on an electrical utility grid. Time-of-use electricity rates encourage shifting of electrical loads to off-peak periods at night and on weekends. Buildings can respond to these pricing signals by shifting cooling-related thermal loads either by precooling the building’s massive structure or by using active thermal energy storage systems such as ice storage. While these two thermal batteries have been engaged separately in the past, this paper investigates the merits of harnessing both storage media concurrently in the context of optimal control for a range of selected parameters. A parametric analysis was conducted utilizing an EnergyPlus-based simulation environment to assess the effects of building mass, electrical utility rates, season and location, economizer operation, central plant size, and thermal comfort. The findings reveal that the cooling-related on-peak electrical demand and utility cost of commercial buildings can be substantially reduced by harnessing both thermal storage inventories using optimal control for a wide range of conditions.
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February 2005
Technical Papers
Parametric Analysis of Active and Passive Building Thermal Storage Utilization*
Guo Zhou,
Guo Zhou
University of Colorado at Boulder, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0428
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Moncef Krarti,
Moncef Krarti
University of Colorado at Boulder, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0428
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Gregor P. Henze
Gregor P. Henze
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Architectural Engineering, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0681
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Guo Zhou
University of Colorado at Boulder, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0428
Moncef Krarti
University of Colorado at Boulder, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0428
Gregor P. Henze
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Architectural Engineering, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0681
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division and presented at the ISEC2004 Portland, Oregon, July 1–14, 2004 of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Manuscript received by the ASME Solar Division April 27, 2004, final revision April 29, 2004. Associate Editor: J. Davidson.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2005, 127(1): 37-46 (10 pages)
Published Online: February 7, 2005
Article history
Received:
April 27, 2004
Revised:
April 29, 2004
Online:
February 7, 2005
Citation
Zhou , G., Krarti, M., and Henze, G. P. (February 7, 2005). "Parametric Analysis of Active and Passive Building Thermal Storage Utilization." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2005; 127(1): 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1824110
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