Peak shaving is a control measure within the context of demand side management (DSM) aimed at reducing peak loads in a building's energy consumption. The term "load" refers to the electrical power required at any given time to supply all consumers. Peak loads occur when many devices in the building simultaneously demand high power. The higher the peak load at a given time, the higher the demand charges paid to the grid operator, i.e., the costs charged by the grid operator for providing the electricity connection. By strategically controlling and temporarily shutting off non-critical loads, these peaks can be reduced. An example is the strategic pre-cooling of a commercial building before an energy-intensive event, so that the air conditioning system does not have to run at full capacity during the event.
Intelligent software solutions can centrally capture and analyze real-time data from the building in the cloud to predict peak loads. Through the automated and proactive control of building systems and the integration of energy storage, non-critical loads can be strategically reduced or shifted. This enables efficient energy use and sustainably lowers the costs of energy provision.
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