Thermal Grid Ancillary Services

This lecture discusses the concept of grid ancillary services in the context of the traditional electricity grid, focusing on the need for flexible demand and supply control. It explores the potential of thermal storage in buildings to manipulate electricity demand and provide reserves to the grid. The lecture also covers research achievements in demand response frameworks, reserves aggregation, HVAC systems for large buildings, and consumer flexibility. Examples of using refrigerators for primary frequency control are presented, along with optimization-based control for HVAC systems. The role of users in energy management systems is analyzed, considering both engineering and social science perspectives. Planned experiments on the NEST building are outlined to test thermal storage reserves and human participation models.