IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p7751-d1142486.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Annual Effect of the VRF Control Algorithm in Response to the TOU Rate Plan

Author

Listed:
  • Je-Hyeon Lee

    (Department of Refrigeration and Air-conditioning, Pukyong National University, Yongso-ro 45, Nam-gu, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea)

  • Young-hak Song

    (Department of Architectural Engineering, ERI, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju-daero 501, Jinju City 52828, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

Many countries adopt a time-of-use (TOU) rate system, in which electricity rates vary by season and time of day, to reduce power usage during peak power consumption hours. South Korea offers a TOU rate plan that depends on the electricity usage of a building and its contracted power; in this plan, the electricity rate reaches up to 300% depending on the time of day. Hence, electrically powered variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are increasingly being installed in small- and medium-sized buildings requiring individual cooling and heating operations. This study aims to develop a new control algorithm to reduce electricity consumption and electricity rates for cooling and heating by VRF systems in university buildings adopting the TOU rate plan and apply it to actual buildings to verify the reduction effect. The proposed control algorithm primarily consists of a module that controls the refrigerant evaporation temperature (cooling) and high pressure (heating) according to the indoor heat load and a module that controls the indoor set temperature based on the hourly electricity rate. The developed algorithm was installed in the controller of a VRF system installed in an actual university building and the annual effect was verified using the method proposed by the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol. As a result, power consumption was reduced by 17.8% for heating and 4.0% for cooling due to the application of the control algorithm, and the electricity rates reduced by 19.2% and 7.3%, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Je-Hyeon Lee & Young-hak Song, 2023. "Annual Effect of the VRF Control Algorithm in Response to the TOU Rate Plan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7751-:d:1142486
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7751/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7751/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chua, K.J. & Chou, S.K. & Yang, W.M. & Yan, J., 2013. "Achieving better energy-efficient air conditioning – A review of technologies and strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 87-104.
    2. Kang, Won Hee & Lee, Jong Man & Yeon, Sang Hun & Park, Min Kyeong & Kim, Chul Ho & Lee, Je Hyeon & Moon, Jin Woo & Lee, Kwang Ho, 2020. "Modeling, calibration, and sensitivity analysis of direct expansion AHU-Water source VRF system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jing, Gang & Cai, Wenjian & Zhang, Xin & Cui, Can & Yin, Xiaohong & Xian, Huacai, 2019. "An energy-saving oriented air balancing strategy for multi-zone demand-controlled ventilation system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1053-1065.
    2. Niamsuwan, Sathit & Kittisupakorn, Paisan & Suwatthikul, Ajaree, 2015. "Enhancement of energy efficiency in a paint curing oven via CFD approach: Case study in an air-conditioning plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 465-477.
    3. Svetlana Ratner & Yuri Chepurko & Larisa Drobyshecskaya & Anna Petrovskaya, 2018. "Management of Energy Enterprises: Energy-efficiency Approach in Solar Collectors Industry: The Case of Russia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(4), pages 237-243.
    4. Yang, Xiaohu & Yu, Jiabang & Guo, Zengxu & Jin, Liwen & He, Ya-Ling, 2019. "Role of porous metal foam on the heat transfer enhancement for a thermal energy storage tube," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 142-156.
    5. Wang, Wenqing & Kolditz, Olaf & Nagel, Thomas, 2017. "Parallel finite element modelling of multi-physical processes in thermochemical energy storage devices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1954-1964.
    6. Yang, Shiyu & Wan, Man Pun & Ng, Bing Feng & Dubey, Swapnil & Henze, Gregor P. & Chen, Wanyu & Baskaran, Krishnamoorthy, 2020. "Experimental study of model predictive control for an air-conditioning system with dedicated outdoor air system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    7. Yuan, Zhipeng & Liu, Qi & Luo, Baojun & Li, Zhenming & Fu, Jianqin & Chen, Jingwei, 2018. "Thermodynamic analysis of different oil flooded compression enhanced vapor injection cycles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 553-560.
    8. Tong, Zheming & Chen, Yujiao & Malkawi, Ali & Liu, Zhu & Freeman, Richard B., 2016. "Energy saving potential of natural ventilation in China: The impact of ambient air pollution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 660-668.
    9. Zu, Kan & Qin, Menghao & Cui, Shuqing, 2020. "Progress and potential of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as novel desiccants for built environment control: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Cui, X. & Islam, M.R. & Mohan, B. & Chua, K.J., 2016. "Theoretical analysis of a liquid desiccant based indirect evaporative cooling system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 303-312.
    11. Yang, Zili & Zhang, Kaisheng & Hwang, Yunho & Lian, Zhiwei, 2016. "Performance investigation on the ultrasonic atomization liquid desiccant regeneration system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 12-25.
    12. Wang, Kai & Peng, Jinqing & Li, Sihui & Li, Houpei & Zou, Bin & Ma, Tao & Ji, Jie, 2024. "Compressor speed control for optimizing energy matching of PV-driven AC systems during the cooling season," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    13. Zhou, Yuren & Lork, Clement & Li, Wen-Tai & Yuen, Chau & Keow, Yeong Ming, 2019. "Benchmarking air-conditioning energy performance of residential rooms based on regression and clustering techniques," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    14. Yuan, Jun & Nian, Victor & Su, Bin & Meng, Qun, 2017. "A simultaneous calibration and parameter ranking method for building energy models," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 657-666.
    15. Zhao, Rui & Zhou, Xiao & Han, Jiaojie & Liu, Chengliang, 2016. "For the sustainable performance of the carbon reduction labeling policies under an evolutionary game simulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 262-274.
    16. Lehmann, Christoph & Beckert, Steffen & Gläser, Roger & Kolditz, Olaf & Nagel, Thomas, 2017. "Assessment of adsorbate density models for numerical simulations of zeolite-based heat storage applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1965-1970.
    17. Mortazavi, Mehdi & Schmid, Michael & Moghaddam, Saeed, 2017. "Compact and efficient generator for low grade solar and waste heat driven absorption systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 173-179.
    18. Mahmood, Muhammad H. & Sultan, Muhammad & Miyazaki, Takahiko & Koyama, Shigeru & Maisotsenko, Valeriy S., 2016. "Overview of the Maisotsenko cycle – A way towards dew point evaporative cooling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 537-555.
    19. Adamczyk, Janusz & Dylewski, Robert, 2017. "The impact of thermal insulation investments on sustainability in the construction sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 421-429.
    20. Tatchell-Evans, Morgan & Kapur, Nik & Summers, Jonathan & Thompson, Harvey & Oldham, Dan, 2017. "An experimental and theoretical investigation of the extent of bypass air within data centres employing aisle containment, and its impact on power consumption," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(P3), pages 457-469.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7751-:d:1142486. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.