Experimental implementation of an emission-aware prosumer with online flexibility quantification and provision

Abstract

Active building energy management can facilitate the development of low-carbon buildings and support flexible operations of future smart cities, thanks to advancements in digitalization To fully leverage these benefits, it is essential to integrate diverse objectives and engage multiple stakeholders. However, a gap remains in comprehensive field insights into emission reduction, flexibility provision, and user impacts. This study examined how a real occupied building, with all its energy assets, could function as an emission-aware prosumer with flexible energy consumption. An existing building energy management system was enhanced by integrating a model predictive control strategy. The setup reduced equivalent carbon emissions from electricity imports and provided flexibility to the energy system. The experimental results indicate an emission reduction of 12.5% compared to a rule-based controller that maximized PV self-consumption. In addition, a minimal flexibility provision experiment was demonstrated with a locally emulated distribution system operator. The results suggest that flexibility was provided without the risk of rebound effects, as flexibility was quantified and communicated to the system operator in advance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of low-carbon buildings and their support for flexible energy systems, while also identifying and discussing practical scalability challenges.