Real-Time Electrical Rates And Thermal Utilities (July 2000)
In an effort to address these considerations, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has been utilizing a “real time” or hourly pricing structure for procurement of electrical power for the past several years. This pricing structure has resulted in wide variations in the cost of electrical energy and has required significant flexibility in the operation of thermal utility systems to minimize costs.
This article presents the methodology used to develop a program to model the predicted energy cost of various chilled water production alternatives and the efforts to incorporate operational flexibility into these systems. It also discusses the operation of the cogeneration system and various methods of chilled water production.