Research Interests
- Model-predictive control (MPC): what can optimal control techniques teach us about how to better operate our buildings? Are there near-optimal heuristics and rules that can be extracted from MPC and then implemented in building automation systems?
- Smart grid and energy management: I’m interested in taking the smart grid beyond the buzzword stage and exploring the truly innovative operational efficiency and behavior change benefits that will occur by providing commercial and residential building owners with more detailed information and insights about their energy use.
- Mixed-mode cooling: how do we appropriately harness free cooling in buildings through natural ventilation, while still preserving some of the mechanical cooling that building occupants expect and need in many climates?
- Passive cooling: what low-energy, non-mechanical cooling strategies can be effectively implemented in US commercial buildings? How do we use a combination of intelligent envelopes, systems and control schemes to reach near-zero energy building designs?
- Plug loads: the fastest-growing end use segment, what technologies, incentives and policy mechanisms are needed to tame unbridled growth in plug load energy use? What does this mean for the design of building systems? How do we tame these loads to make net zero or net positive energy buildings possible?
Journal Papers
May-Ostendorp, P., Henze, G.P., Rajagopalan, B., Corbin, C., 2012. Extraction of supervisory control rules from model predictive control of windows in a mixed mode building. Journal of Building Performance Simulation. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19401493.2012.665481
Corbin, C.D., Henze, G.P. & May-Ostendorp, P., 2012. A model predictive control optimization environment for real-time commercial building application. Journal of Building Performance Simulation. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19401493.2011.648343
May-Ostendorp, P. et al., 2011. Model-predictive control of mixed-mode buildings with rule extraction. Building and Environment, 46(2), pp.428-437. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.08.004
Felsmann, C., G.P. Henze, P. May-Ostendorp and C.D. Corbin, “Regelalgorithmen für Mixed-Mode Gebäudesysteme.” gi- Gesundheits-Ingenieur – Haustechnik – Bauphysik – Umwelttechnik, Vol. 131, No. 4 (2010), pp. 203-207.
Chinn, D. et al., 2004. Three Dimensional Imaging of LIGA-Made Microcomponents. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 126(4), pp.813-821. Available at: http://link.aip.org/link/?MAE/126/813/1
Conference Papers
Khan, F.H. et al., 2009. Challenges and Solutions in Measuring Computer Power Supply Efficiency for 80 PLUS® Certification. In 2009 Twenty-Fourth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition. IEEE, pp. 2079-2085. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=4802961
Vairamohan, B., May-Ostendorp, P., Beck, N. How Low Can You Go? The role of power electronics in achieving higher levels of efficiency for desktop computers. In Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2008. APEC 2008. Twenty-Third Annual IEEE, pp.423-428. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=4522757
Herb, K., May-Ostendorp, P., Calwell, C., Duff, R. Lean, Green, and Solid State: Measuring and Enhancing Computer Efficiency. In Proceedings of the ACEEE 2006 Summer Study Conference on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Asilomar, CA: ACEEE, pp. 166 – 177. Available at: http://www.eceee.org/conference_proceedings/ACEEE_buildings/2006/Panel_9/p9_15
Calwell, C., May-Ostendorp, P., Fernstrom, G. Building a Better Bulb: Technologies, Policies, and Programs Behind the Battle to Increase the Efficiency of General Service Incandescent Light Bulbs. In Proceedings of the ACEEE 2006 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Asilomar, CA: ACEEE, pp. 49 – 60. Available at: http://www.aceee.org/proceedings-paper/ss06/panel09/paper05
May-Ostendorp, P. et al., 2006. In Search of Synergy. In Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 2006. Scottsdale, AZ: pp. 114-119. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1650046
Calwell, C. & Ostendorp, P., 80 plus: a strategy for reducing the inherent environmental impacts of computers. In Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 2005. IEEE, pp. 151-156. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1437012
Selected Presentations
May-Ostendorp, P., Henze, G., Rajagopalan, B. Rule extraction: developing near-optimal heuristics from offline MPC studies in buildings. Presentation given at the 2011 Model Predictive Control in Buildings Workshop, sponsored by the International Building Performance Simulation Association, Montreal, Canada, June 24 – 25, 2011.
May-Ostendorp, P. Control of Mixed Mode Buildings. Webinar presentation given to membership of the United States Green Building Council. Boulder, CO, December 13, 2011.
May-Ostendorp, P., Henze, G., Rajagopalan, B., Corbin, C. Energy-Optimal Control for Mixed-Mode Buildings. Poster presentation at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s 2010 Energy Frontiers conference, Boulder, CO, April 2010.
May-Ostendorp, P. Tackling the Improved Control of Mixed-Mode Buildings: a Research Update. Invited presentation at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, April 2010.
May-Ostendorp, P. Improving Mixed-Mode Design and Operation Through Optimal Control. Presentation at 2009 United States Green Building Council GreenBuild conference, Phoenix, AZ, November 2009.
May-Ostendorp, P., Fortenbery, B. The Efficiency of Internal Power Supplies: Test Procedure and Policy Developments. Presentation at the Applied Power Electronics Conference, Dallas, Texas, March 23, 2006.
May-Ostendorp, P. NRDC TV Energy Efficiency Research. Presentation to NRDC-hosted TV International Stakeholder Meeting, San Francisco, California, June 28, 2005.
Selected Reports
Neugebauer, R., Frazer, B., May-Ostendorp, P., Calwell, C. Lowering the Cost of Play: Improving the Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles. Technical report. Natural Resources Defense Council, November 2008.
May-Ostendorp, P., Riley-Orth, B. Tuning in to Energy Efficiency: Prospects for Energy Savings in TV Set-Top Boxes. Technical report. Natural Resources Defense Council, June 2007.
Moorefield, L., Porter S., May-Ostendorp, P. Final Field Research Report. Technical report. California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research program, October 31, 2006.
Geist, T., Kamath, H., Porter, S., May-Ostendorp, P. Designing Battery Charger Systems for Improved Energy Efficiency: A Technical Primer. Technical report. California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research program, September 2006.
May-Ostendorp, P., Foster, S., Calwell, C. Televisions: Active Mode Energy Use, New Horizons for Energy Efficiency. Technical report. Natural Resources Defense Council, March 2005.
