Peak demand response operation with improved sensible capacity

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising:

• a variable-speed compressor configured to compress refrigerant flowing through the HVAC system;
• a blower configured to provide a flow of air through the HVAC system at a controllable flow rate;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the variable-speed compressor and the blower, the controller configured to:
• receive a demand request, the demand request comprising a command to reduce power consumption by the HVAC system by a predefined percentage;
• in response to receipt of the demand request:
• decrease a speed of the variable-speed compressor by at least the predefined percentage of the command to reduce power consumption, thereby operating the HVAC system at a decreased tonnage of cooling corresponding to the decreased speed of the variable-speed compressor;
• and
• adjust the controllable flow rate of the flow of air provided by the blower to a first flow rate, based on a predefined ratio of blower flow rate to tonnage of cooling;
• wherein, following decreasing the speed of the variable-speed compressor and adjusting the controllable flow rate of the flow of air:
• a ratio of the first flow rate to the decreased tonnage of cooling is increased to a predefined value, and
• a power consumption of the HVAC system is decreased by at least the predefined percentage associated with the demand request.