Experimental study on flexible energy utilization of energy storage air conditioning system considering demand response

Due to the large fluctuation of the cooling and heating load of the actual building, the air-source heat pump system is often faced with frequent start and stop. The flexible using energy storage tank can solve this problem and improve the operation efficiency of the air conditioning system. An air conditioning system with flexible regulation of energy storage tank is set up, and the operation mechanism of energy storage tank as buffer device in winter and summer and the operation of participating in demand response as active energy storage device are studied and analysed by using VAV experimental platform. The feasibility of the active energy storage system is verified by experiments, and the operation effects of different strategies are analysed from the aspects of system water temperature, energy consumption and operating cost. The results show that under the actual operating condition of “large flow rate and small load”, the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet of the tank makes up for the small temperature difference deficiency between the inlet and outlet of the combined air handling unit, then the start-stop times of the air-source heat pump are reduced. As an active energy storage device, the tank can provide a stable shedding load when participating in demand response, and effectively utilize the energy on the non-demand response day.