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DOE OSTI · 2522674

Controlling Air Conditioners for Frequency Regulation: A Real-World Example

Granitsas, Ioannis M. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); University of Michigan] (ORCID:000000016162806X)·Oyefeso, Oluwagbemileke E. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000264003679)·Ledva, Gregory S. [Virtual Peaker Inc., Louisville, KY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000301556943)·Mock, Stephen A. [Pecan Street Inc., Austin, TX (United States)]·Hinson, Scott R. [Pecan Street Inc., Austin, TX (United States)]·Hiskens, Ian A. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000193022863)·Mathieu, Johanna L. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188345350)
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Abstract

Even though thermostatically controlled loads like air conditioners present a great potential for providing ancillary services to the electric power grid, the practical challenges associated with their real-time coordination have not received the necessary attention. In this work, we present a nondisruptive load control application, specifically, we demonstrate how real residential air conditioners can provide frequency regulation. Aggregate power adjustment is achieved by modifying the ON/OFF modes of the air conditioners. To account for both single and multi-zone houses, we extend the currently available techniques and develop an approach that can be used for controlling aggregations that include both types of houses. A discussion of the practical challenges encountered in our field experiments is provided, along with the hardware and software approaches we developed to circumvent them. Here, we argue that limitations of current thermostat APIs introduce significant challenges and are an impediment to widespread adoption of fast load control applications.

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24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATIONThermostatically controlled loadsdistributed energy resourcesfrequency regulationload control

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BibTeXRIS

Granitsas, Ioannis M. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); University of Michigan] (ORCID:000000016162806X), Oyefeso, Oluwagbemileke E. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000264003679), Ledva, Gregory S. [Virtual Peaker Inc., Louisville, KY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000301556943), Mock, Stephen A. [Pecan Street Inc., Austin, TX (United States)], Hinson, Scott R. [Pecan Street Inc., Austin, TX (United States)], Hiskens, Ian A. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000193022863), Mathieu, Johanna L. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188345350). 2024-12-09. Controlling Air Conditioners for Frequency Regulation: A Real-World Example. https://doi.org/10.1109/tsg.2024.3513296

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