Comfort-constrained demand flexibility management for building aggregations using a decentralized approach

In the smart grid and smart city context, the energy end-user plays an active role in the operation of the power system. The rapid penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) requires a higher degree of flexibility on the demand side. As commercial and Industrial buildings (C&I) buildings represent a substantial aggregation of loads, the intertwined operation of the electric distribution network and the built environment is to large extent responsible for achieving energy efficiency and sustainability targets. However, the primary purpose of buildings is not grid support but rather ensuring the comfort and safety of its occupants. Therefore, the comfort level needs to be included as a constraint when assessing the flexibility potential of the built environment. This paper proposes a decentralized method for flexibility allocation among a set of buildings. The method uses concepts from non-cooperative game theory. Finally, two case of study are used to evaluate the performance of the decentralized algorithm, and compare it against a centralized option. It is shown that flexibility requests from the grid operator can be met without deteriorating the comfort levels.