Demand Shifting With Thermal Mass in Large Commercial Buildings:Field Tests, Simulation and Audits

The principle of pre-cooling and demand limiting is to pre-cool buildings at night or in the morning during off-peak hours, storing cooling in the building thermal mass and thereby reducing cooling loads and reducing or shedding related electrical demand during the peak periods. Cost savings are achieved by reducing on-peak energy and demand charges. The potential for utilizing building thermal mass for load shifting and peak demand reduction has been demonstrated in a number of simulation, laboratory, and field studies (Braun 1990, Ruud et al. 1990, Conniff 1991, Andresen and Brandemuehl 1992, Mahajan et al. 1993, Morris et al. 1994, Keeney and Braun 1997, Becker and Paciuk 2002, Xu et al. 2003). This technology appears to have significant potential for demand reduction if applied within an overall demand response program. The primary goal associated with this research is to develop information and tools necessary to assess the viability of and, where appropriate, implement demand response programs involving building thermal mass in buildings throughout California. The project involves evaluating the technology readiness, overall demand reduction potential, and customer acceptance for different classes of buildings. This information can be used along with estimates of the impact of the strategies on energy use to design appropriate incentives for customers.