Acknowledgement to reviewers of JSAN in 2016

The editors of JSAN would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2016.[...

Towards critical performance considerations for using office buildings as a power flexibility resource-a survey

The continued growth in variable renewable energy sources (VRES) has created increased focus on the use of office buildings for power flexibility activities. Office buildings uniquely present opportunities for relatively easy control adaptation during power flexibility activities given their large thermal inertial and existing building automation. Though a number of studies have outlined the potentials of office buildings for power flexibility, however only few studies have clearly outlined associated critical performance characteristics as it relates to comfort. Subsequently, this paper uses structured literature survey to outline critical performance characteristics that should be considered when using office buildings as power flexibility resources. Understanding the performance characteristics that are critical for using office buildings as power flexibility resources is important not only for their effective control and coordination but also to avoid compromising the core role of office buildings which is the provision of a comfortable and productive environment for business transactions

Virtual occupancy for real-time occupancy information in buildings

This study aims at developing a generic, feasible and low cost occupancy detection solution to provide reliable real-time occupancy information in buildings. Currently, various low cost or even free occupancy measurements are common in offices along with the popularization of information technologies. An information fusion method is proposed to integrate multiple occupancy measurements for reliable real-time occupancy information using the Bayesian belief network (BBN) algorithm. Based on this method, two types of virtual occupancy sensor are developed at room-level and working zone-level respectively. The room level virtual occupancy sensors are composed of physical occupancy sensors, chair sensor, keyboard and mouse amongst others. The working zone-level virtual occupancy sensors are developed based on real-time GPS location and Wi-Fi connection from smart device like smart phones and occupancy access information from building management systems. The developments of these two types of virtual occupancy sensors can be conducted automatically with functions of self-learning, self-performance assessment and fault detection. The performances of the developed virtual sensors are evaluated in two private office rooms. Results show that the developed virtual occupancy sensor are reliable and effective in providing real-time occupancy information. The paper also discusses application of the virtual occupancy sensors for demand driven HVAC operations

A review study of the current research on energy hub for energy positive neighborhoods

Energy positive neighborhoods and cities are emerging concepts aimed at addressing the current energy and environmental sustainability challenges. In this paper, the concept and current research on energy hubs relating to energy positive neighborhoods are presented. In addition to discussing advantages and challenges of energy positive neighborhoods and energy hubs, opportunities for future research and development are also conversed

Demand side flexibility: potentials and building performance implications

Due to their significant energy demand, buildings are critical in efforts towards attaining the much needed operational flexibility in electrical power grid occasioned by increased decentralized renewable energy integration. In a departure from past studies which are often biased towards power systems performance, this paper presents key building performance implications when used within the context of electricity demand-side management (DSM) programs to provide power systems flexibility services to the smart-grid. Focusing on office buildings and using an average-sized office building as test-bed, their potential as a source of demand-side flexibility in terms of building specific parameters such as power demand, energy consumption, limits of operational flexibilities, systems' response times, indoor comfort, comfort recovery time and availability are evaluated and discussed. Analysis of field study data demonstrates that office buildings could effectively serve as a source of power flexibility. However, variation in indoor air quality and thermal comfort performance across various zones within the building may complicate estimation of demand side flexibility potential, its acceptability and operation at building level. This emphasizes the need of taking into consideration case study based specifics when using buildings to service power flexibility requirement

A human-in-the-loop approach for energy flexibility system integration to support infrastructures

Traditionally top down organized energy supply in electricity and gas networks have to cope with decentralized renewable energy production. This decentralized energy generation on micro level introduces growing complexities and uncertainties that have to be factored in operations. Occupant behaviour in buildings is a key factor that significantly influences the energy consumption of buildings. Whilst researchers have focused considerable effort into understanding and developing strategies that address the impact of occupant behaviour on building energy consumption, the high-energy demand of buildings is a useful source of demand-side energy flexibility for the smart-grid. In harnessing the energy flexibility potentials of buildings, energy management systems play a vital role to optimally coordinate the use of buildings energy flexibility without compromising occupant demands.</p