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• A case is made for model free control of thermostatically controlled loads. • Priority Based Control (PBC), a novel control algorithm for buildings, is introduced. • PBC is an inexpensive retrofit controller for increasing demand flexibility. • PBC is shown to be adept at reducing peak demand as well as generic load shaping. • PBC field testing in a commercial building shows significant peak demand savings. Reducing peak power demand in a building can reduce electricity expenses for the building owner and contribute to the efficiency and reliability of the electrical power grid. For the building owner, reduced expenses come from the reduction or elimination of peak power charges on electricity bills. For the power system operator, reducing peak power demand leads to a more predictable load profile and reduces stress on the electric grid system. We present a computationally inexpensive, dynamic, and retrofit-deployable control strategy to effect peak load reduction and load shaping. The effectiveness of the control strategy is examined in a simulation with 80 air-conditioning units and 40 refrigeration units. The results show that a peak demand reduction of 60 kW can be achieved relative to peak demand in a typical set point–based approach. The proposed strategy was deployed in a gymnasium building with four rooftop HVAC units, where it showed over 15% peak demand (kW) reduction savings while maintaining or lowering energy consumption (in kilowatt-hours) relative to the set point–based thermostat controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]