Title: Smart operation of air-conditioning (A/C) and lighting systems for national load management

Authors: G.P. Maheshwari, F. Al-Ragom, D. Al-Nakib, H. Al-Taqi, A. Meerza

Addresses: Building and Energy Technologies Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885 Safat, 13109 Kuwait. ' Building and Energy Technologies Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885 Safat, 13109 Kuwait. ' Building and Energy Technologies Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885 Safat, 13109 Kuwait. ' Building and Energy Technologies Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885 Safat, 13109 Kuwait. ' Technology Entrepreneurship Center, The National Technology Enterprises Company, P.O. Box 2294 Safat, 13023 Kuwait

Abstract: In the countries of Arabian Peninsula, demand for electric power, primarily controlled by the air-conditioning (A/C) and generally peaking at 15:00 h, is currently growing well over 5% annually. Adaptations of smart operation of A/C and lighting systems in government and institutional buildings that commonly function between 07:00 h and 14:00 h has been evaluated as a technique for national load management in this paper. Time-of-day control for lighting and A/C systems in line with the building occupancy and pre-closing treatment for the A/C system were implemented in a major government building in Kuwait. Reduction of well over 38% in the peak power demand of 5,250 kW was achieved after 14:00 h, the official closing hour for the building. Also, the pre-closing treatment effectively achieved a reduction of over 5% after 13:00 h. Implementation of these measures in many similar buildings in Kuwait can reduce the national peak power demand by 4%, thereby reducing the need of new power plants by nearly 400 MW; besides achieving considerable reduction in electricity consumption. More importantly, the major savings in electric power and energy can be realised without any expenditure or compromise in comfort quality.

Keywords: time-of-day control; TDC; pre-closing treatment; PCT; peak power demand reduction; electricity conservation; Kuwait; air conditioning; lighting systems; energy conservation; national load management; government buildings; Kuwait.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETP.2009.023208

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, 2009 Vol.7 No.1, pp.18 - 29

Published online: 14 Feb 2009 *

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