A novel direct air-conditioning load control method

Outdoor temperature, thermal comfort level of consumers and payback load effect constrain direct load control (DLC) of air-conditioning loads and limit the DLC schedule. Since the constraints in direct air-conditioning load control are characteristics of air-conditioning loads, this work presents a novel group-DLC program with a least enthalpy estimation (LEE)-based thermal comfort controller for air-conditioning systems to control air-conditioning systems and eliminate DLC problems simultaneously. The g-DLC controller is the threshold for problems between air-conditioning units and the load management program, and arranges the DLC schedule for all air-conditioning units. The LEE-based thermal comfort controller can maintain the thermal comfort level within a reasonable range and prolong off-shift time of the DLC program, thereby increasing shedding load. It can also mitigate the impact of outdoor temperature and prevent payback load effect. Hence, DLC constraints on air-conditioning loads are mitigated. An optimal load-shedding arrangement is adopted and the load profile is matched with load-shedding demand by the g-DLC controller. Accordingly, the group-DLC method can reduce the effects of DLC constraints on air-conditioning loads and optimize the schedule simultaneously.