Demo Abstract: Distributed Control of a Swarm of Buildings Connected to a Smart Grid

Abstract

Energy-efficient control mechanisms are necessary to manage the ever increasing energy demand. Recently several tools for building energy consumption control have been proposed for small (e.g. homes) and large (e.g. offices) buildings. The mechanism each tool uses is different, e.g. HVAC control and appliance rescheduling, but they share the goal of improving consumption of the buildings with respect to a given cost function. Some examples of cost functions are reduced energy consumption, reduced electricity bill, lower peak power, and increased ancillary service participation. The tools however do not capture the impacts of their control actions on the grid. These actions can lead to supply/demand imbalance and voltage/frequency deviation and thus, threaten grid stability. Utilities can take protective actions against those who cause instability by increasing electricity price or even momentarily disconnecting them from the grid. The effects of these protective actions can be so severe that the savings obtained by building management tools might disappear.