An integrated evaluation method for multiple flexible regulation strategies of air conditioning load accounting for demand response costs

Current research on air-conditioning system flexibility primarily evaluates the peak-shaving effect of individual strategies, lacking a comprehensive quantitative comparison of the benefits and costs of multi-strategy coordination. This paper proposes an integrated evaluation method for multiple flexible regulation strategies that incorporates the rebound effect as a demand response cost. Using an office building as a case study, the comprehensive performance of three standalone strategies (temperature adjustment, supply water temperature adjustment, and precooling) and their combinations under three typical response durations is compared. The results demonstrate distinct scenario applicability of the three strategies due to their inherent characteristics in regulation capacity, rebound costs, and timeliness. In the 60-minute demand response scenario, the indoor temperature increase strategy offers the strongest peak shaving (approximately 60%), but with a high load rebound rate of up to 85%, making it better suited for subsidy-driven demand response programs. The precool strategy provides moderate peak shaving (approximately 10%). Its key advantage is an extremely low rebound (approximately 0.4%), preserving arbitrage potential under time-of-use pricing and making it better suited to price-driven demand response programs. Featuring moderate rebound and minimal occupant impact, water supply temperature increase can improve system COP to achieve energy savings, making it ideal for efficiency-focused demand response. The integrated strategy does not significantly enhance overall performance, demonstrating equivalent peak shaving capacity to individual strategies but with more pronounced rebound. This study provides quantitative support and strategy optimization methods for flexible regulation of air conditioning loads in high-temperature regions.