Model Predictive Control for Market-Based Demand Response Participation

In this study, we investigate the maximum possible profit for a commercial office building participating in New York’s Day-Ahead Demand Response (DADR) program. We formulate an optimal control problem, assuming perfect knowledge of future weather, occupancy, and day-ahead electricity price predictions to examine this potential benefit. Then, a practical control strategy based upon the framework of Model Predictive Control (MPC) is proposed, which enables a building to participate in the DADR program. The controller decides once every day, whether or not to participate in the Demand Response (DR) event, and then optimizes the electric consumption to increase savings. A simulation study is carried out using a building model extracted from an EnergyPlus model, real measured weather data, and real day-ahead spot market price data for New York. Savings in the range of 23% to 33% are reported.