Demand flexibility and its impact on a PEM fuel cell-based integrated energy supply system with humidity control

Abstract

The development of efficient energy systems and renewable alternative energy sources has attracted substantial attention owing to the rise in environmental deterioration and energy usage. A combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system can fully use different types of energy with low emissions and offers a viable solution to address these issues. Demand flexibility is a key issue in collaborating with different types of supplies and demands for optimal system operation. In this study, a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell driven CCHP system with humidity control is proposed to fully investigate the impact of demand flexibility on system operation. A novel flexible load regulation strategy was designed for the proposed system. The results show that flexible load regulation can reduce the thermal storage capacity by 25%. Supplement heating and cooling do not need operate in winter and summer. With flexible regulation, the heating load can be reduced by 15.69% in winter, and the cooling and dehumidification loads can be reduced by 30.71% and 6.09% in summer. The reductions in hydrogen consumption can reach 1.98% and 7.51% during winter and summer. The proposed method can simultaneously increase the exergy efficiency and reduce carbon emission, as well as the economy cost.