Lead Performer: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) — Golden, CO
FY19 DOE Funding: $250,000
Project Term: October 1, 2018 — September 30, 2021
Funding Type: Direct Funded

Project Objective

This project will develop and demonstrate a community-scale solution to reduce solar photovoltaic (PV) curtailment and lessen the adverse impact of solar variability on the distribution voltage. It will also examine how to provide critical load support during emergency events for net zero energy (NZE) residential communities. This project aims to overcome challenges such as reverse power flow and ineffective utilization of flexible loads and energy storage with solar. The project team will focus on advancing modeling, sensing, and control of NZE residential communities using artificial-intelligence-driven control technology. They will design a streamlined process to model homes in NZE communities with appropriate fidelity levels, identify sensors for model calibration and continuous commissioning, and develop control methods for more effective building-to-grid integration. This project will also extend to a national scale and explore the grid impact and potential mitigation strategies of NZE communities in various climate zones.

Project Impact

This project will advance the building sciences on NZE community modeling, sensing, and control. The project will improve the source energy savings by at least 10% and maximize the demand flexibility in NZE residential communities using artificial-intelligence-driven control technology.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Monica Neukomm
Lead Performer:  Xin Jin, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)