Tuesday, January 26, 2016: 8:00 AM-9:30 AM
Modern Residential Systems
Chair:
Joshua Rhodes, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Technical Committee: 07.05 Smart Building Systems
In the face of challenges regarding the stability and reliability of the electric grid, and growing interest for energy-reducing solutions, significant advances in residential appliances are being made to meet these needs. Much of the 38% of total electricity use and up to 50% of peak electricity loads contributed by residential buildings in the United States are associated with residential appliances. This seminar covers recent efforts to develop, test and implement advanced residential grid-connected solutions. This diverse set of solutions includes kitchen appliances, as well as HVAC systems, water heaters, batteries, electric vehicle charging stations and photovoltaic systems.
1 Using Connected Devices in the Home to Provide Grid Services
 |
Bethany Sparn, National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
As more distributed energy resources are installed, the electric grid needs to become more nimble to support and take advantage of these renewable but intermittent sources of energy. Many smaller loads could be controlled to provide stability to the grid and allow more clean sources of energy to be added to the grid, but the extent to which specific devices can help the grid is not yet known. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute are characterizing the grid services of five connected devices: PV inverter, electric vehicle charging station, community-scale battery, pool pump, and thermostat.
2 Demand-Response Performance of GE Electric Resistance and Sanden Unitary/Split-System Heat Pump Water Heater
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Joseph Petersen, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
The use of heat pump water heaters (HPWH) in the residential sector will provide theoretical energy
savings of up to 63% per water heater over a typical electric resistance water heater (ERWH). However,
to a utility, energy-efficient technologies are the most desirable when they provide grid stability and
control benefits through demand-response (DR) capabilities. This presentation will discuss the DR
performance of various HPWHs compared to an ERWH as demonstrated by experiments using the side-
by-side PNNL Lab Homes. Experiments included testing each water heater for two typical
types of DR events: peak curtailments due to oversupply, and balancing reserves.
3 Residential Grid-Connected Smart Appliances: Laboratory Vs. Field Performance
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J. Carlos Haiad, P.E., Southern California Edison |
One of the benefits of the smart grid is the ability to leverage grid-connected, demand-response (DR) ready appliances to help consumers better manage their energy costs and electric utilities better manage their power distribution. This presentation will examine the field performance of DR ready refrigerators, clothes washers, and dishwashers in three blocks of homes over a period of nearly two years, and compare their performance with a series of DR testing conducted in the laboratory prior to their field deployment.