Skip to main content

PNNL

  • About
  • News & Media
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
      • Biology
        • Chemical Biology
        • Computational Biology
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Human Health
          • Cancer Biology
          • Exposure Science & Pathogen Biology
        • Integrative Omics
          • Advanced Metabolomics
          • Chemical Biology
          • Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurement Technologies
          • Spatial and Single-Cell Proteomics
          • Structural Biology
        • Microbiome Science
          • Biofuels & Bioproducts
          • Human Microbiome
          • Soil Microbiome
          • Synthetic Biology
        • Predictive Phenomics
      • Chemistry
        • Computational Chemistry
        • Chemical Separations
        • Chemical Physics
        • Catalysis
      • Earth & Coastal Sciences
        • Global Change
        • Atmospheric Science
          • Atmospheric Aerosols
          • Human-Earth System Interactions
          • Modeling Earth Systems
        • Coastal Science
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Subsurface Science
        • Terrestrial Aquatics
      • Materials Sciences
        • Materials in Extreme Environments
        • Precision Materials by Design
        • Science of Interfaces
        • Solid Phase Processing
          • Cold Spray
          • Friction Stir Welding & Processing
          • ShAPE
      • Nuclear & Particle Physics
        • Dark Matter
        • Flavor Physics
        • Fusion Energy Science
        • Neutrino Physics
      • Quantum Information Sciences
    • Energy Resiliency
      • Electric Grid Modernization
        • Emergency Response
        • Grid Analytics
          • AGM Program
          • Tools and Capabilities
        • Grid Architecture
        • Grid Cybersecurity
        • Grid Energy Storage
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
          • Earth System Modeling
          • Energy System Modeling
        • Transmission
        • Distribution
      • Energy Efficiency
        • Appliance and Equipment Standards
        • Building Energy Codes
        • Building Technologies
          • Advanced Building Controls
          • Advanced Lighting
          • Building-Grid Integration
        • Building and Grid Modeling
        • Commercial Buildings
        • Federal Buildings
          • Federal Performance Optimization
          • Resilience and Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Residential Buildings
          • Building America Solution Center
          • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
          • Home Energy Score
        • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
      • Energy Storage
        • Electrochemical Energy Storage
        • Flexible Loads and Generation
        • Grid Integration, Controls, and Architecture
        • Regulation, Policy, and Valuation
        • Science Supporting Energy Storage
        • Chemical Energy Storage
      • Environmental Management
        • Waste Processing
        • Radiation Measurement
        • Environmental Remediation
      • Fossil Energy
        • Subsurface Energy Systems
        • Carbon Management
          • Carbon Capture
          • Carbon Storage
          • Carbon Utilization
        • Advanced Hydrocarbon Conversion
      • Nuclear Energy
        • Fuel Cycle Research
        • Advanced Reactors
        • Reactor Operations
        • Reactor Licensing
      • Renewable Energy
        • Solar Energy
        • Wind Energy
          • Wind Resource Characterization
          • Wildlife and Wind
          • Community Values and Ocean Co-Use
          • Wind Systems Integration
          • Wind Data Management
          • Distributed Wind
        • Marine Energy
          • Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy
          • Marine Biofouling and Corrosion
          • Marine Energy Resource Characterization
          • Testing for Marine Energy
          • The Blue Economy
        • Hydropower
          • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
          • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
          • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
          • Materials Science for Hydropower
          • Pumped Storage Hydropower
          • Water + Hydropower Planning
        • Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
        • Geothermal Energy
      • Transportation
        • Bioenergy Technologies
          • Algal Biofuels
          • Aviation Biofuels
          • Waste-to-Energy and Products
        • Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
        • Vehicle Technologies
          • Emission Control
          • Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems
          • Lightweight Materials
          • Vehicle Electrification
          • Vehicle Grid Integration
    • National Security
      • Chemical & Biothreat Signatures
        • Contraband Detection
        • Pathogen Science & Detection
        • Explosives Detection
        • Threat-Agnostic Biodefense
      • Cybersecurity
        • Discovery and Insight
        • Proactive Defense
        • Trusted Systems
      • Nuclear Material Science
      • Nuclear Nonproliferation
        • Radiological & Nuclear Detection
        • Nuclear Forensics
        • Ultra-Sensitive Nuclear Measurements
        • Nuclear Explosion Monitoring
        • Global Nuclear & Radiological Security
      • Stakeholder Engagement
        • Disaster Recovery
        • Global Collaborations
        • Legislative and Regulatory Analysis
        • Technical Training
      • Systems Integration & Deployment
        • Additive Manufacturing
        • Deployed Technologies
        • Rapid Prototyping
        • Systems Engineering
      • Threat Analysis
        • Advanced Wireless Security
          • 5G Security
          • RF Signal Detection & Exploitation
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Internet of Things
        • Maritime Security
        • Millimeter Wave
        • Mission Risk and Resilience
    • Data Science & Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Graph and Data Analytics
      • Software Engineering
      • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
      • Future Computing Technologies
        • Adaptive Autonomous Systems
      • Visual Analytics
    • Publications & Reports
    • Featured Research
  • People
    • Inventors
    • Lab Leadership
    • Lab Fellows
    • Staff Accomplishments
  • Partner with PNNL
    • Education
      • Undergraduate Students
      • Graduate Students
      • Post-graduate Students
      • University Faculty
      • University Partnerships
      • K-12 Educators and Students
      • STEM Education
        • STEM Workforce Development
        • STEM Outreach
        • Meet the Team
      • Internships
    • Community
      • Regional Impact
      • Philanthropy
      • Volunteering
    • Industry
      • Available Technologies
      • Industry
      • Industry Partnerships
      • Licensing & Technology Transfer
      • Entrepreneurial Leave
      • Visual Intellectual Property Search (VIPS)
  • Facilities & Centers
    • All Facilities
      • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility
      • Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center
      • Energy Sciences Center
      • Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
      • Grid Storage Launchpad
      • Institute for Integrated Catalysis
      • Interdiction Technology and Integration Laboratory
      • PNNL Portland Research Center
      • PNNL Seattle Research Center
      • PNNL-Sequim (Marine and Coastal Research)
      • Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
      • Shallow Underground Laboratory

Economic Dispatch

Coordinating generation and grid

In the future, PNNL’s approach to Economic Dispatch could enable commercial structures to meet their own energy needs while gaining economic benefits from electricity sales to the grid.

Economic Dispatch is a methodology that coordinates a building’s combined heating, cooling, and power system (CHP) with associated building systems and the power grid. A PNNL-developed technology has cost-effectively realized Economic Dispatch, demonstrating that a CHP can meet all building needs and earn more income than usual from selling its excess electricity to the grid.

Multifaceted coordination

Under Economic Dispatch, a range of energy supply and demand factors including weather conditions, local energy consumption, and electricity costs are monitored. These various factors then inform CHP and building system operations. The goal is to manage the CHP in a manner that optimizes generation, keeps the building completely functional (occupants warm or cool), and contributes to reliable and resilient grid operations.

The PNNL technology that enables Economic Dispatch links the VOLTTRON™ distributed sensing and control platform and PNNL-crafted algorithms with the CHP and associated building systems. The fully automated technology makes decisions related to CHP production and building energy needs and coordinates with the grid. PNNL’s method was successfully tested in 2019 in a multi-month evaluation at a New York energy provider’s plant.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office continues to support PNNL’s Economic Dispatch development efforts.

Research topics

Building-Grid Integration

PNNL

  • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Doing Business
    • Environmental Reports
    • Security & Privacy
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
    • Energy Resiliency
    • National Security
Subscribe to PNNL News
Department of Energy Logo Battelle Logo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • X (formerly Twitter)
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn