Publications

Showing 64 results for Author: Helia Zandi

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  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    The Empirical Effect of Fleet Optimization on Synchronization and Rebound Effects in Heat Pump Water Heaters

    Demand response is a growing concept in light of the internet of things and an increasing need for grid flexibility. Water heaters are one of the preferred devices for providing demand response for grid services and peak management due to their capability to store energy. The efficient use of water heaters for demand response requires consideration of the associated load e…

  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    Impact of Control on Availability and Cycling of Residential HVAC in a Real-World Experiment

    Demand response is an important emerging part of smart grids and there is a large stream of research from theoretical and modeling perspectives. However, there is relatively little experimental evidence that could help researchers and building operators make informed decisions on best practices for modeling, developing, and deployment of control mechanisms. We contribute t…

  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    Peak Reduction Using Mode Adjustment of Heat Pump Water Heaters in a Residential Neighborhood

    Building electrification is putting pressure on distribution grid worldwide. Peak reduction is an important concern that can help reduce the growing stress and allow to defer investments in new capacity. Water heaters represent a convenient way of reducing peak because they are less dependent on weather, and their storage volume allows for asynchronous water heating and ho…

  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    Using Synchronization as an Indicator of Controllability in a Fleet of Water Heaters

    Peak reduction is an important concern that can help reduce the growing stress on distribution grid and allow to defer investments in new capacity. However, the growing concern for customer privacy and comfort may impact the performance of load control for residential devices. Water heaters represent a convenient way of reducing peak due to their ability to store thermal e…

  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    Findings from Design and Operation of Connected Neighborhoods

    Distributed energy resources and load management are an important emerging part of smart grids. Concurrent management of homeowner preferences and utility objectives requires an intelligent negotiation strategy supported by physical infrastructure that learns, optimizes, and controls the system. While there is a wide body of research related to modelling and simulation of…

  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    Experimental Evidence on Latency in a Fleet of Controllable Water Heaters

    Demand response is an important emerging part of smart grids with wide coverage in theoretical and modeling research. However, experimental evidence on the real-life behavior of controllable loads is still limited. We present observations regarding latency and communication aspects of the operation on a fleet of residential water heaters in a smart neighborhood in Atlanta,…

  • Jan, 2024

    Conference Paper

    Analysis of Building Model Forecasts using Autonomous HVAC Optimization System for Residential Neighborhood

    Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems account for the highest share of home energy consumption in the United States. Optimized HVAC control can provide thermal improved comfort to the occupants, improve energy efficiency, reduce energy cost, and support grid services. In this paper, we discuss a multi-agent and cloud-based software framework that has be…

  • Dec, 2023

    Journal

    COVID-19 Pandemic Ramifications on Residential Smart Homes Energy Use Load Profiles

    The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected people’s behavioral patterns and schedules because of stay-at-home orders and a reduction of social interactions. Therefore, the shape of electrical loads associated with residential buildings has also changed. In this paper, we quantify the changes and perform a detailed analysis on how the load shapes have changed, and we…

  • Nov, 2023

    Conference Paper

    Deep reinforcement learning with online data augmentation to improve sample efficiency for intelligent HVAC control

    Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) has started showing success in real-world applications such as building energy optimization. Much of the research in this space utilized simulated environments to train RL-agent in an offline mode. Very few research have used DRL-based control in real-world systems due to two main reasons: 1) sample efficiency challenge---DRL approaches ne…

  • Nov, 2023

    Conference Paper

    Virtual Infrastructure Twins: Software Testing Platforms for Computing-Instrument Ecosystems

    Science ecosystems are being built by federating computing systems and instruments located at geographically distributed sites over wide-area networks. These computing-instrument ecosystems are expected to support complex workflows that incorporate remote, automated AI-driven science experiments. Their realization, however, requires various designs to be explored and softw…

  • Nov, 2023

    Conference Paper

    Evidence of Residential Demand Flexibility in a 46 Townhome Neighborhood

    Demand response is an important emerging part of smart grids and it has been well researched from the theoretical and modeling perspectives. The empirical evidence on demand response is scarce, resulting in a limited understanding of many important aspects of demand response, including latency, cycling, and overrides - including acceptable impacts to customer comfort, conv…

  • Nov, 2023

    Journal

    Optimal Operation of Integrated PV and Energy Storage Considering Multiple Operational Modes With a Real-World Case Study

    In the past decade, substantial investments have been made in researching and developing concepts and technologies to support the smart grid, renewable integration, and grid-interactive buildings. Adaptation of integrated solar photovoltaics with energy storage is increasing in residential buildings as consumers and utilities are becoming aware of their economic benefits a…

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