Development of residential HVAC and air conditioning demand management and control systems

This project aims to leverage the TRCA Archetype Sustainable House facilities, the innovative HVAC, DHW and renewable energy equipment and on-site comprehensive monitoring system to identify opportunities for systems integration and optimization and, together with the manufacturing partner and utilities, demonstrate a control module that can both inform homeowners of their energy consumption via a user-friendly display and automate system operation of the on-site equipment. The anticipated outcomes of the project will be the demonstration of the ability of “smart” controls to reduce energy consumption and/or shift loads to off-peak times by optimizing the operation of innovative home HVAC equipment. The outcomes will be of importance to government agencies looking for solutions to climate change (such as NRCan), utilities looking for electrical load shaving and peak load shifting opportunities (such as electrical local distribution companies, THESL, and the Ontario Power Authority) and agencies interested in demand side management opportunities (such as natural gas utilities). The outcomes of the two main subprojects, 1) Peaksaver Benefit Analysis and 2) Development of Smart Dual Fuel Switching System (SDFSS), will provide insights and technologies for our partners, THESL, to better manage their CDM and DR programs.

Faculty Supervisor:

Drs. Alan Fung, Farrokh Janabi-Sharifi & Xavier Fernando

Student:

Nima Alibabaei, M. Ebrahim Poulad & Jun Zhang

Partner:

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

Ryerson University