Designing DR for Commercial Customers
The Business Energy Coalition (BEC) is a multi-year demand response demonstration project partnering Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with local business and civic leaders. The Energy Coalition serves as program facilitator.
In 2005, the BEC enrolled 32 PG&E customers who agreed to deliver, as a group, 10 megawatts (MW) of electrical load reduction during peak hours. These charter members easily surpassed their group goal. In 2006, the group was expanded to include an additional 30+ new members, who delivered more than 15 MW of peak reduction. Today the BEC has enrolled over 130 members with a group goal of delivering up to 50 MW of demand response electrical reduction capacity by the summer of 2008.
The BEC targets large utility customers with roughly 1000+ kW of peak demand who are able to drop 10 - 15% of their peak load during curtailment events. Commercial properties that have not historically participated in any demand response program before are targeted, such as Class “A” high-rise office buildings and premiere hotels. These facilities challenge the notion that demand response is impossible because of perceived discomfort for the building’s occupants. Since many are also well recognized as energy-efficient buildings and/or newly constructed ones, BEC members also challenge the notion high performance facilities operate too “lean” to garner significant load reductions.
Barrier: statewide peak coincides with commercial sector peak; commercial facilities cannot shift or shed loads without disrupting building tenants.
Solution: The BEC works with utility end-users to develop a set of realistic load curtailment protocols, that are based on individual site characteristics. Should one site fail to meet an individual goal on a particular day, other group members stand ready to step-up their own contributions to meet the group goal.
Hilton San Francisco
Hilton San Francisco is the largest hotel on the West Coast, with more than 1.8 million sq. ft. It encompasses an entire city block. Hilton joined the BEC in 2005, and was one of six charter members representing the hospitality sector. Initially, Hilton committed to a conservative level of load reductions (7.3% of average peak), uncertain how demand response would impact busy summer operations. In 2005, Hilton found that it consistently outperformed its goal, reducing peak demand on average by more than 750 kilowatts (kW). With confidence established in the program and in its own ability to load shed, the Hilton more than doubled its contribution for 2006.
Westin San Francisco Market Street (formerly the Argent Hotel)
On June 22, 2006, temperatures in downtown San Francisco reached an unusual 81°F. PG&E triggered the BEC; it was the first event day of the year. This proved difficult for the Argent Hotel. One of two chillers was offline and in need of repair, diminishing the ability of building engineers to reduce their electrical load. The Argent, for the first time since joining in 2005, missed its goal. While the engineers were disappointed, they were protected by the rest of the group, which met and surpassed its 10 megawatt aggregate goal. Since then, The Westin San Francisco Market Street has surpassed its reduction goals in each of the curtailment events called, routinely contributing 60% above its reduction commitment.
Barrier: commercial facilities are not equipped with DR-enabling technologies; this hampers their ability to participate in programs.
Solution: The BEC installs a “gateway” device on each utility meter, which sends interval meter readings every few minutes to a central server via the Internet. This system, called EnJoin 5.0, enables end-users to “see” their energy usage every 1-5 minutes (depending on connection), set alarms, run historical analysis, and monitor the results of energy efficiency and energy conservation measures.
Seagate Property Management
Seagate Property Management at 44 Montgomery Street, has been one of the BEC’s largest commercial real estate contributors since 2005, reducing peak demand by 17% during curtailment events.
“It’s easy to get complacent about your Building Management Systems (BMS),” says Terry Cahill, Chief Engineer. “Participating in the Business Energy Coalition has helped our engineers look beyond the front end to discover a broader range of energy saving opportunities.”
By using the Program’s EnJoin5.0 Smart Energy Management System in conjunction with their BMS, Seagate Property Management has been able to successfully contribute far beyond their committed kW during each of our curtailment days.
Barrier: building engineers are unfamiliar with demand response and may not have the confidence to “experiment” with income-earning buildings or buildings housing critical processes.
Solution: BEC engineers are well-regarded DR experts who assess each site alongside the chief engineer. Together, they develop a load curtailment protocol report that is then approved by each member. The BEC also has year-round, full-time staff to assist members.
Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco
A San Francisco landmark that survived the 1906 earthquake, the Fairmont Hotel is known for its luxury and history, yet building engineers operate behind the scenes to drop almost 17% of their electrical load. The BEC identified a number of strategies for the Fairmont, including shut-down or staging of fans and motors and reset of chilled water temperature. During events, engineers even manually shut-down non-essential ice machines, moving floor by floor to get the job done.
For more information on the Business Energy Coalition please contact Leanne Hoadley at (415) 973-1548 or lsh9@pge.com