Pre-Cooling Strategies for Demand Response in Large Commercial Buildings
Project Number DR 06.08 Organization SCE End-use Other Sector Commercial Project Year(s) 2006 - 2008Project Summary
This study investigates opportunities for increased demand response through peak load shifting with setpoint adjustment, using pre-cooling strategies in well-insulated large commercial buildings located in hot and dry climates. The principle behind pre-cooling with setpoint adjustment for demand shifting is to pre-cool buildings during off-peak hours (at night or in the morning) – to provide cost savings through reduced on-peak energy and demand charges. This study establishes the potential for these strategies, and also identifies several uncertainties that should be resolved before pre-cooling can be reliably implemented in large commercial buildings. Data from the various pre-cooling tests were used to help in the initial development of a DR (Demand Response) Quick Assessment tool (DR 08.02) to predict pre-cooling impacts on demand response for large building structures.