Improving Energy Management through Demand Response Programs for Low-Rise University Buildings

Recently, energy costs have increased significantly, and energy savings have become more important, leading to the use of different patterns to align with the characteristics of demand-side load. This paper focused on the energy management of low-rise university buildings, examining the demand response related to air conditioning and lighting by measuring the main parameters and characteristics and collecting and managing the data from these parameters and characteristics. This system seeks to control and communicate with the aim of reducing the amount of peak energy using a digital power meter installed inside the main distribution unit, with an RS-485 communication port connected to a data converter and then displayed on a computer screen. The demand response and time response were managed by power management software and an optimization model control algorithm based on using a split type of air conditioning unit. This unit had the highest energy consumption in the building as it works to provide a comfortable environment based on the temperatures inside and outside the building. There was a renewable energy source that compensated for energy usage to decrease the peak load curve when the demand was highest, mostly during business hours. An external power source providing 20 kWh of solar power was connected to an inverter and feeds power into each phase of the main distribution. This was controlled by an energy power management program using a demand response algorithm. After applying real-time intelligent control demand-side management, the efficient system presented in this research could generate energy savings of 25% based on AC control of the lighting system. A comparison of the key system parameters shows the decrease in power energy due to the use of renewable energy and the room temperature control using a combination of split-type air conditioning.