Energy and Demand Saving Potential due to Integrated HVAC, Lighting, and Shading Controls in Small Office Building

With commercial and residential buildings accounting for approximately 40% of the energy and 70% of the electricity consumption in the United States, there are substantial opportunities to improve energy efficiency in these buildings. Similarly, buildings also account for the large majority of electricity demand, particularly during peak use hours. As the electric grid becomes increasingly supported by renewable energy, buildings are ideal for supporting demand-side management, allowing for the electricity demand to meet the variable levels of electricity supply. Integrated controls of various building energy system components, including HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning), lighting, and shading devices, combined with advanced sensor and control technologies, can help to optimize system operations. This research aims to study the impact of integrated HVAC, lighting, and shading device controls, to estimate energy and demand saving in typical small office buildings in the US. This is achieved through a multi-step modeling process, including daylight simulation using Radiance to evaluate available daylight for each zone, then EnergyPlus to develop and implement various controls and estimate energy and demand savings using the Radiance results as input. The result of this work provides insights for a variety of stakeholders in the building, utility and grid operator industries, and quantifies the potential benefit of integrated systems.