Dynamic aggregated building electricity load modeling and simulation

Abstract

In order to support the growing interest in demand response modeling and analysis, there is a need for physical-based building load models. This work presents a new approach for simulating electrical power flow in buildings. The new approach handles the power flow capacity shortage in existing building simulation programs, which have been used for the past few decades by building energy communities. The suggested approach represents the building as a group of electrical networks, organized in hierarchical levels. On the top level, the user defines key parameters such as rated power and power factor of existing loads. The power cables are modeled by their equivalent PI model. Accurate simulation models are developed for solving the building network equations where building loads are integrated into building network. Smart meters are implemented at different locations for power quality and energy auditing. Two case studies of residential and commercial buildings are investigated to prove the capability of the introduced approach. A comparison with EnergyPlus, as verified building energy software, is introduced to prove the ability of the proposed Matlab-based model to evaluate the annual energy consumption of the building. All results show the accuracy and ability of the proposed approach for simulating the electrical power flow of the building and can be integrated with renewable and storage energy.