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Distributed energy resources (DERs) are controllable electrical devices that plug in at the edge of the power grid, typically through buildings. DERs — such as electric vehicles, heating and cooling equipment, energy storage systems, and rooftop solar photovoltaics — will play an increasingly important role in future energy systems that decarbonize, digitalize, and decentralize their operations. In this class, students will learn to model a variety of DERs, optimize DER designs, and control DERs to reduce costs, pollution, and impacts on the power grid. This class will involve a mix of coding and mathematical analysis. Students will do semester projects on current DER research and development topics.
Flyer
Syllabus
Slack
Lecture slides
- Introduction
- Energy, electricity, and DERs
- Linear ordinary differential equations
- Linear dynamical systems
- Batteries and electric vehicles
- Buildings, part 1
- Buildings, part 2
- Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
- Thermal storage and water heaters
- Solar energy
Lecture videos
- Introduction
- Energy, electricity, and DERs
- Linear ordinary differential equations
- Linear dynamical systems
- Batteries and electric vehicles
- Buildings, part 1
- Buildings, part 2
- Buildings wrap-up
- Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
- Thermal storage and water heaters
- Solar energy
Homework
Code
- Simple climate model (linearization, time discretization)
- Electric vehicles (dynamics, charging policies)
- Buildings (dynamics, heating/cooling policies)
- Water heaters (dynamics, charging policies)
Read, listen, watch
- David Roberts: Clean energy technologies threaten to overwhelm the grid. Here’s how it can adapt. Vox, 2018
- David Roberts and Lorenzo Kristov: Envisioning a more democratic, bottom-up energy system. Volts, 2024
- Joseph Tomain, The past and future of electricity regulation. Environmental Letters, 2002. Sections III A-D, pages 443-453.
- 3Brown1Blue: How (and why) to raise e to the power of a matrix
- The Energy Gang: Unlocking home electrification with heat pumps
- Undecided with Matt Ferrell: How a sand battery could revolutionize home energy storage