Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 34) [case study] University of Maryland, Baltimore, Reduces Energy Consumption by 20 Million kWh in Two Years, Using Comverge Demand Response Solutions BackgrOunD In 2006, the State of Maryland adopted legislation for the reduction of energy consumption throughout state buildings — the State Buildings Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act — geared to reduce energy consumption by 5 percent in 2009 and 10 percent by 2010. Regional businesses in the local Regional Transmission Organization, named the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) Interconnection, subsequently received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop additional energy efficiency programs. All of this coincided with the timing of energy efficiency programs being considered at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). The University began working with PJM Interconnect, LLC and Comverge, a leading clean capacity provider of demand response and energy efficiency programs, to reduce energy consumption on campus and find cost-effective ways to save energy and expenses. “Serving as our Curtailment Service Provider (CSP) or broker in the PJM Demand Response Programs, Comverge became a facilitator for reducing our peak demand and overall consumption, which ultimately contributed to reducing our carbon footprint and emission levels,” said Michael Krone, PE Utility Operations Manager for UMB. “Comverge provided the resources to monitor real-time market pricing, develop load profiles and create customer baselines, to name a few. Comverge’s graphical tools have been invaluable to our success in the PJM Demand Response Programs.” sOLuTiOn 4. 5. 6. of hours for real-time control) Temporarily raising HVAC return-air set points for short periods of 30 minutes or less to reduce cooling demand. Given a typical building’s level of “thermal inertia” of 45 minutes or greater, this effort is totally transparent to the occupants Putting a portion of the campus chilled water production on a “current limiting” mode for short 30-minute periods. To ensure the transparency of this activity to the building occupants, only a fraction of the overall production is put into the conservation mode at any given time and the operation is shifted between production facilities over time Deployment of a Building Automation Network that monitors and controls the individual automation system(s) in each building from a central location; interconnect and group together building chilled water plants to optimize chilled water production UMB enrolled in Comverge’s Real-Time Economic Load Response Program and Reliability Pricing Model (RPM) Program, receiving assistance from energy analysts, obtaining load profiling and IT support, consumption analytics/graphics and other conservation initiatives. In addition to the many graphical tools that enabled UMB’s success in the PJM DR programs, Comverge: Comverge worked closely with UMB facilities managers to keep them up-to-date on energy market prices, new energy conservation opportunities and help with technical support. UMB has had a long-standing business relationship with Comverge and recently extended its contract for demand response program support services. UMB is also looking to use Comverge for participation in the PJM Synchronized Reserve (SR) Program, which is similar to the real-time market and RPM programs (except that participation hours are extended to evenings and weekends, which will require additional technical support Comverge’s ICC Support Group). “We are very happy with Comverge’s support and specific expertise they provide in the PJM demand response programs,” said Gary Viola, director of operations and maintenance for UMB. “The coupling of their expertise with the technical capabilities of our in-house energy operations staff has created an environment that promotes the energy savings we have realized. The challenge we continually face as we look forward is how to sustain these energy savings outcomes in the future.” BEnEFiTs • performs energy audits to see where energy could be saved. • completes on-site assessments, provides metering and system integration and assistance. • provides 24/7/365 technical and operations support from their Integration & Command Center (ICC) IT Support Group. Some examples of the strategies that UMB and Comverge are implementing for participation in the FERC-sponsored PJM DR programs include: 1. Using an existing 20,000 ton-hour/2,000-ton output thermal storage system to shift air conditioning load from daytime on-peak operation to nighttime off-peak operation 2. Remotely controlling all “public area” lighting and turning off all nonessential lighting loads during periods of high demand 3. Real-time switching of lighting and HVAC loads via remote control from occupancy sensors (based upon occupant levels) and the local building automation system (scheduling UMB’s success has been extraordinary with their participation in Comverge’s Real-Time Economic Load Response and Reliability Pricing Model Programs. UMB reduced its load to date by more than 20 million kW-hours since July, 2006. That is the equivalent of two months worth of electrical consumption for the University, or powering 10,000 homes with electricity for two months. “The University of Maryland is a great example of what just one campus can do to reduce its energy load and lessen the carbon impact. You would expect an institution of higher learning to do just this, and the university should be commended for its innovation and forward thinking,” said George Hunt, Comverge senior vice president of the Enerwise Group. For more information: www.comverge.com or 888.565.5525 Advertisement 34 E n E rgyB i z September/October 2008 http://www.comverge.com http://www.comverge.com
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