Integral BEMS controlled LVPP in the smart grid: An approach to a complex distributed system of the built environment for sustainability

The Built Environment is the most complex distributed system with its energy networks. It has a huge impact on ecology and economy as it is responsible for nearly 40% of the total energy use and the related emissions. There is growing interest in the proliferation of smart grid technologies to enable the growth of renewable energy installations both on a distributed basis as well as at the utility scale. Renewable energy, like wind and solar power, are depending on the weather conditions. This causes fluctuations in supply which can lead to instability of the electricity grids. Therefor there is a need of flexibility on the demand side. Office buildings, which consume relatively more energy than residential buildings, are a potential source of energy flexibility which can be offered to the Smart Grid as a local virtual power plant (LVPP) to reduce uncertainty and optimize interaction with the Smart Grid. An integral framework for interactive process control is presented based on the combination of state-of-the-art process control Building Energy Management System (BEMS) and future support by multi-agent systems. The proposed LVPP-BEMS concept is tested and validated in an office building.