OCHRE: Object-Oriented Controllable High-Resolution Residential Energy Model

Emerging technologies in residential buildings are changing the nature of energy consumption and creating opportunities for demand flexibility. To study these opportunities, NREL has created the Object-oriented Controllable High-resolution Residential Energy (OCHRE™) model.

Residential buildings are experiencing rapid changes in many demand-side technologies, including energy-efficient heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, electric vehicles, rooftop solar, and energy storage systems. These devices are often equipped with cloud-connected controllers that can adjust the quantity and timing of energy consumption. This control presents a unique opportunity for residential customers to save on energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, and improve electric grid operations. OCHRE can simulate a variety of control methods, in individual homes and at scale, to quantify these benefits and impacts. OCHRE uses detailed thermal and electrical modeling of residential end-use loads and the building envelope and integrates with grid simulators, device controllers, and aggregators.

Researchers at NREL have used OCHRE to perform high-resolution time-series co-simulation of thousands of buildings connected to the grid simultaneously, enabling the control and aggregation of tens of thousands of distributed energy resources and end-use devices. OCHRE allows NREL to answer pressing questions about the impacts of emerging demand-side technologies on the grid, including their ability to provide grid services and to enable the integration of renewable resources.