Re: A research team has managed to coordinate 100 domestic air conditioners to stabilise the power grid in real time, as if they were a flexible power plant.

On Sat, 14 Jun 2025 11:15:40 -0700, John Robertson <jrr@flippers.com>
wrote:

On 2025-06-14 8:50 a.m., john larkin wrote:

On Sat, 14 Jun 2025 15:14:48 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
 

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This is an automated translation (DeepL) of an article I found today;
the original is in Spanish. There is an article in English at the IEEEE,
but you need an account to read.
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<https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10783092>
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<https://ecoinventos.com/un-equipo-de-investigacion-logro-coordinar-100-aires-acondicionados-domesticos-para-estabilizar-la-red-electrica-en-tiempo-real/>
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*A research team has managed to coordinate 100 domestic air conditioners
to stabilise the power grid in real time, as if they were a flexible
power plant.*
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5-6 minutes
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A research team demonstrated that many residential air conditioners can
be coordinated to support the power grid without affecting the comfort
of users.
>
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Air conditioning: from enemy to ally
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    * Air conditioning use = more electricity demand in summer.
    * Peak consumption ? risk of blackouts.
    * New system: controls ACs without affecting comfort.
    * Technology tested in 100 homes (Texas).
    * Results: regulates the grid like a power plant.
    * Zero nuisance for users.
    * Compatible with smart thermostats.
    * Contributes to integrating renewable energies.
>
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How air-conditioning can help the grid instead of overloading it
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In summer, the massive use of air conditioners generates peaks in
electricity consumption. These peaks force expensive and polluting power
plants to be activated, compromising grid stability and increasing
carbon emissions. In some cases, this overload can even lead to
blackouts or planned outages.
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However, recent research shows that it is possible to transform this
problem into a solution. Through intelligent control systems, it is
feasible to coordinate the operation of hundreds of air conditioning
units without affecting the comfort of users, while at the same time
helping to stabilise the electricity grid.
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Adjustable equipment, smart grids
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Historically, the electricity grid was designed to operate with large
thermal power plants (coal, natural gas, nuclear) that adjusted their
output in real time according to demand. But with the increasing
penetration of intermittent renewables (such as solar and wind), this
model is no longer sustainable.
>
Today, the focus is on distributed energy resources: systems that
generate, store or regulate energy consumption close to the end user.
This is where electric vehicles, heat pumps, water heaters and smart air
conditioners come into play, which can automatically modify their
consumption without human intervention.
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The problem of frequency
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The electricity grid must be maintained at a constant frequency (60 Hz
in North America). When demand exceeds generation, the frequency goes
down; when there is excess generation, it goes up. Power plants adjust
their output to maintain balance, a process known as frequency regulation.
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But what if household appliances could also participate in this adjustment?
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Pilot test: air conditioning as a frequency regulator
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Between 2019 and 2023, a team led by the University of Michigan,
together with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of
California at Berkeley, conducted a pilot test in 100 homes in Austin,
Texas. The air conditioners were connected to control boards capable of
modifying the on/off cycle of the compressor depending on the frequency
of the grid.
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The adjustment was minimal: they always stayed within the temperature
range defined by the thermostats. The aim was to achieve a collective
change in electricity consumption, almost imperceptible to the users,
but relevant to the electrical system.
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Key results
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    * Frequency regulation as accurate as that of a traditional power plant.
    * No discomfort reported by most users.
    * Indoor temperature never deviated more than 0.9°C from set point.
    * Less than 2% of households requested to deactivate the system in
any test.
    * Full compatibility with smart thermostats already available on the
market.
>
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Incentives and adoption
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This type of technology can be easily integrated into voluntary
programmes offered by utilities or manufacturers of smart thermostats.
In exchange for bill credits, the user allows their air conditioner to
cooperate with the grid at critical times, without them noticing the
difference.
>
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Potential
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Turning air conditioning into a flexible asset transforms a large energy
consumer into a balancing and efficiency tool. Deploying it on a large
scale would:
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    * Reduce fossil fuel use at times of high demand.
    * Increase the capacity to integrate renewable sources (less
reliance on backup power plants).
    * Reduce global emissions associated with summer electricity
consumption.
    * Improve energy resilience to heat waves and consumption peaks.
    * Empower citizens to actively participate in the energy transition,
without sacrificing their comfort.
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This approach represents a smart, efficient and cost-effective way to
move towards a cleaner and more balanced energy model.
>
More information: Controlling Air Conditioners for Frequency Regulation:
A Real-World Example | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore
>
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Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 
A/C units don't generate power. When renewables can't meet demand, the
best they can do is load shed.
 

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Pretty sure the point of the research was to find a simple way for air
conditioners loading to be applied to the grid in a controlled fashion,
rather than random starts and stops. This aids in keeping the loading
factor under better control so another power generation source isn't
needed to keep the line frequency stable.
>
What I've read sounds like good information for coordinating air
conditioners across a wide area.

500,000 a/c units, cycling randomly, will be a very smooth load. About
all that wide-range remote controls can do is crank down their total
power. That would help, of course, when generation can't meet demand.

Seems easier to me to have adequate full-time generating capacity.
That's an old-fashioned concept.

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Nowhere in the post does it say that air conditioners are generating
power...the reduction of fuel use is due to increased efficiency of
power usage.

Improving efficiency by load shedding means hotter homes. Why not just
mandate that no thermostats can go below 80F?