LAPSE:2023.23706
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.23706
Solar+ Optimizer: A Model Predictive Control Optimization Platform for Grid Responsive Building Microgrids
Anand Krishnan Prakash, Kun Zhang, Pranav Gupta, David Blum, Marc Marshall, Gabe Fierro, Peter Alstone, James Zoellick, Richard Brown, Marco Pritoni
March 27, 2023
With the falling costs of solar arrays and battery storage and reduced reliability of the grid due to natural disasters, small-scale local generation and storage resources are beginning to proliferate. However, very few software options exist for integrated control of building loads, batteries and other distributed energy resources. The available software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice, and are often incapable of operating independently of the grid during blackouts. In this paper, we present the “Solar+ Optimizer” (SPO), a control platform that provides demand flexibility, resiliency and reduced utility bills, built using open-source software. SPO employs Model Predictive Control (MPC) to produce real time optimal control strategies for the building loads and the distributed energy resources on site. SPO is designed to be vendor-agnostic, protocol-independent and resilient to loss of wide-area network connectivity. The software was evaluated in a real convenience store in northern California with on-site solar generation, battery storage and control of HVAC and commercial refrigeration loads. Preliminary tests showed price responsiveness of the building and cost savings of more than 10% in energy costs alone.
Keywords
control system, demand flexibility, distributed energy resources, Model Predictive Control, Optimization, resiliency, smart buildings
Suggested Citation
Krishnan Prakash A, Zhang K, Gupta P, Blum D, Marshall M, Fierro G, Alstone P, Zoellick J, Brown R, Pritoni M. Solar+ Optimizer: A Model Predictive Control Optimization Platform for Grid Responsive Building Microgrids. (2023). LAPSE:2023.23706
Author Affiliations
Krishnan Prakash A: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [ORCID]
Zhang K: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [ORCID]
Gupta P: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Blum D: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Marshall M: Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
Fierro G: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Alstone P: Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
Zoellick J: Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
Brown R: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [ORCID]
Pritoni M: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [ORCID]
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
13
Issue
12
Article Number
E3093
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-06-15
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: en13123093, Publication Type: Journal Article
Record Map
Published Article

LAPSE:2023.23706
This Record
External Link

doi:10.3390/en13123093
Publisher Version
Download
Files
Mar 27, 2023
Main Article
License
CC BY 4.0
Meta
Record Statistics
Record Views
78
Version History
[v1] (Original Submission)
Mar 27, 2023
 
Verified by curator on
Mar 27, 2023
This Version Number
v1
Citations
Most Recent
This Version
URL Here
https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2023.23706
 
Original Submitter
Auto Uploader for LAPSE
Links to Related Works
Directly Related to This Work
Publisher Version