(372o) Optimizing Affordable Electrified Multifamily Housing: A Novel Non-Cooperative Stackelberg Game Approach for Grid Profitability and Tenant Affordability

Solving the challenge of climate change while providing affordable housing to the increasing number of cost-burdened tenants is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed. Delving into this urgent matter, a novel non-cooperative Stackelberg game model is introduced to optimize electrified affordable housing solutions, emphasizing improved financial and environmental co-optimization. Previous work in game theory has been used to solve various aspects of electric grid pricing, generation portfolios, and distributed energy resources. Furthermore, previous work has been primarily done in single-family homes and is limited in scope. Game theory has yet to target electrified multifamily buildings primarily accommodating low- and middle-income tenants. A sub-community or larger collection of buildings still needs to be explored as well and will be included in this manuscript.

The game built herein represents critical components in electrified multifamily buildings and distributed energy resources, including the electric grid, onsite solar generation, onsite battery storage, and EV charging stations. Extensive data sources, including historical utility bills, weather data, and building energy modeling, validate OpenStudio/EnergyPlus multifamily building representations in Salt Lake City. Other resources from NREL were used to expand EnergyPlus representations across a community. The optimization of the electric grid and housing components is addressed through the Stackelberg games. The grid will focus on flattening electrical demand deviations, price changes, and maximizing grid profitability, while the residential community will focus on minimizing utility costs and hourly emissions. Evaluating the grid’s performance with the multifamily community will offer a comprehensive framework for electrified affordable housing solutions, provide novel solutions for future implementation, and expand the discourse on electrification’s adoption as a solution to unaffordable housing and climate change.