Gridlab - a grid application toolkid and testbed

In this paper we present the new project called GridLab which is funded by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme. The GridLab project, made up of computer scientists, astrophysicists and other scientists from various application areas, will develop and implement the grid application toolkit (GAT) together with a set of services to enable easy and efficient use of Grid resources in a real and production grid environment. GAT will provide core, easy to use functionality through a carefully constructed set of generic higher level grid APIs through which an application will be able to call the grid services laying beneath in order to perform efficiently in the Grid environment using various, dramatically wild application scenarios

The GRB Library: Grid Computing with Globus in C

none5In this paper we describe a library layered on top of basic Globus services. The library provides high level services, can be used to develop both web-based and desktop grid applications, it is relatively small and very easy to use. We show its usefulness in the context of a web-based Grid Resource Broker developed using the library as a building block, and in the context of a metacomputing experiment demonstrated at the SuperComputing 2000 conference.Aloisio G.; Cafaro M.; Blasi E.; De Paolis L.; Epicoco I.Aloisio, Giovanni; Cafaro, Massimo; Blasi, E.; DE PAOLIS, Lucio Tommaso; Epicoco, Ital

Dynamic Pricing Tariffs for DTE's Residential Electricity Customers

Despite temporal changes in wholesale electricity prices, retail prices are typically constant throughout the day. To address this economic inefficiency, Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy (DTE), can introduce residential dynamic pricing rates to incent customers to shift load away from peak periods, at which time wholesale electricity prices are high. This paper estimates the financial and environmental impacts of implementing dynamic electricity pricing rates for residential customers within the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO). Based on these estimates, we recommend that DTE pilot specific residential dynamic pricing rates, all of which may be suitable for wide-scale deployment. We researched existing pricing programs that have been piloted throughout the country to determine which options present the most potential to reduce or shift peak load. In addition, we obtained cost estimates for enabling technology to be used in conjunction with these tariffs. We then constructed a dispatch model which simulates the MISO electricity market by using electricity supply and demand forecasts for 2010-2030. Applying residential peak load reduction and shifting estimates from previous pilots to the dispatch model, we calculate avoided capacity savings, avoided energy savings, and emissions impacts for various dynamic pricing programs. Specifically, we analyzed a Time of Use (TOU) tariff and TOU/Critical Peak Price tariff with and without enabling technology (smart thermostat and in-home display), as well as a TOU/Peak-time Rebate tariff. We investigate these tariffs using peak and critical-peak period window lengths ranging from four to eight hours. There were three central results. First, deployment of demand response programs to a subset of residential customers with a four-hour peak window results in financial outcomes ranging from a net loss of $350 million to a net gain of$400 million. Second, enabling technology increases peak load reduction, but technology costs may exceed the savings of the increased load reduction. Third, the length of the peak window is an important driver of economic benefits; increasing the window length may enhance net economic benefits.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69236/1/Final Masters Project - Dynamic Pricing Tariffs.pd

Economic-based Distributed Resource Management and Scheduling for Grid Computing

Computational Grids, emerging as an infrastructure for next generation computing, enable the sharing, selection, and aggregation of geographically distributed resources for solving large-scale problems in science, engineering, and commerce. As the resources in the Grid are heterogeneous and geographically distributed with varying availability and a variety of usage and cost policies for diverse users at different times and, priorities as well as goals that vary with time. The management of resources and application scheduling in such a large and distributed environment is a complex task. This thesis proposes a distributed computational economy as an effective metaphor for the management of resources and application scheduling. It proposes an architectural framework that supports resource trading and quality of services based scheduling. It enables the regulation of supply and demand for resources and provides an incentive for resource owners for participating in the Grid and motives the users to trade-off between the deadline, budget, and the required level of quality of service. The thesis demonstrates the capability of economic-based systems for peer-to-peer distributed computing by developing users' quality-of-service requirements driven scheduling strategies and algorithms. It demonstrates their effectiveness by performing scheduling experiments on the World-Wide Grid for solving parameter sweep applications

Integrating Web 2.0 technologies with scientific simulation codes for real-time collaboration

Abstract—This paper motivates how collaborative tools are needed to support modern computational science, using the case study of a distributed team of numerical relativists developing and running codes to model black holes and other astrophysical objects. We describe a summary of previous tools developed within the collaboration, and how they are integrated and used with their simulation codes which are built using the Cactus Framework. We also describe new Cactus tools which use the Twitter and Flickr services. These tools are fundamentally integrated with the code base as Cactus modules and provide reliable, real-time information about simulations that can be easily shared across a collaboration. I

PV Charging and Storage for Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles are only ‘green’ as long as the source of electricity is ‘green’ as well. At the same time, renewable power production suffers from diurnal and seasonal variations, creating the need for energy storage technology. Moreover, overloading and voltage problems are expected in the distributed network due to the high penetration of distributed generation and increased power demand from the charging of electric vehicles. The energy and mobility transition hence calls for novel technological innovations in the field of sustainable electric mobility powered from renewable energy. This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in technology for PV charging and storage for electric vehicles

Champs-Multizone and Virtual Building for Integrated Building Systems Design and Performance Evaluation

The ultimate goal of this research was to develop an integrated framework that facilitates performance-based multi-stage design of buildings and comparison between the performance predicted at the design stage and that monitored at operation stage. Such an integrated framework would not only enable design optimization, but also enable confirmation of design intent or diagnosis of performance deficiency, and thus provide feedbacks for future building design. This dissertation study represents the first step toward this ultimate goal, and had the following specific objectives:: 1) developing a combined heat, air, moisture and pollutant transport model for whole building performance simulation; 2) developing a real-time building IEQ and energy performance monitoring system using a Virtual Building structure to facilitate fast comparison between design and montored performance.; 3) developing a methodology to use CHAMPS-Multizone for a green building design throughout its initial and final design stage. The CHAMPS-Multizone model consists of building envelope model, room model, HVAC model and airflow model, and has an efficient and accurate numeric solvers. The model is tested under different building cases including ASHRAE 140 standard test and a three zones building test and comparision with EnergyPlus calculation results. The Virtual Building is a digital representation of the physical building with a hierarchical data structure, containing both static data such as enclosure assemblies, internal layout, etc. and dynamic data such as occupant activity schedule, outdoor weather conditions, indoor environmental parameters, HVAC operation data and energy consumption data. Then, the Virtual Building approach has been demonstrated in a LEED office building with its monitoring system. Finally, a multi-stage design process was formulated that considers the impact of climate and site, form and massing, external enclosure, internal configuration and environmental system on the whole building performance as simulated by CHAMPS-Multizone. Using the testbed building, both simulation results were also compared with the results monitored by the Virtual Building monitoring system. Future research includes refining CHAMPS-Multizone simulation capability and adding modules such as water loop calculation and integrating HVAC calculation with EnergyPlus

Advancements in Real-Time Simulation of Power and Energy Systems

Modern power and energy systems are characterized by the wide integration of distributed generation, storage and electric vehicles, adoption of ICT solutions, and interconnection of different energy carriers and consumer engagement, posing new challenges and creating new opportunities. Advanced testing and validation methods are needed to efficiently validate power equipment and controls in the contemporary complex environment and support the transition to a cleaner and sustainable energy system. Real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation has proven to be an effective method for validating and de-risking power system equipment in highly realistic, flexible, and repeatable conditions. Controller hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL) and power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) are the two main HIL simulation methods used in industry and academia that contribute to system-level testing enhancement by exploiting the flexibility of digital simulations in testing actual controllers and power equipment. This book addresses recent advances in real-time HIL simulation in several domains (also in new and promising areas), including technique improvements to promote its wider use. It is composed of 14 papers dealing with advances in HIL testing of power electronic converters, power system protection, modeling for real-time digital simulation, co-simulation, geographically distributed HIL, and multiphysics HIL, among other topics