Abstract
Solar energy, today, is the leader in renewable energy and the world's increasing new energy source. In 2016, for the first time, newly installed photovoltaic capacity has increased by more than 50%, exceeding the new coal-fired power stations capacity established worldwide. At the beginning of the year, the European Parliament agreed the target that 35% renewable sources by 2030. Studies show that by 2050 approximately 45% of all the households in the EU could produce their own renewable energy and more than a third of them could be part of a renewable energy cooperative, despite the worries of the distribution companies. Furthermore, the EPBD directive (EU) - Energy Performance of Buildings pushes towards new and more performing buildings - nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) - where energy efficiency and energy flexibility are essential to achieve the required performance targets. Nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) have very high energy performance and could be achieved through the integration of renewable and decentralized energy sources, continuous grid optimization and the inclusion of increasing numbers of consumers becoming producers, so called prosumers. So far, the photovoltaic system is the single technology that can combine data from utility networks with household consumption and therefore should be considered a starting point for streamlining the electricity consumption and production which will be imposed by strict regulations.
Highlights
Energy consumption in the residential sector represents about 40% of the total energy use both in Europe and in the US [1,2]
These challenges refer to the integration of renewable and decentralized energy sources, continuous grid optimization, and the inclusion of increasing numbers of consumers becoming producers, so called prosumers
The photovoltaic system is the single technology that can combine data from utility networks with household consumption and should be considered a starting point for streamlining the electricity consumption and production which will be imposed by strict regulations
Summary
Energy consumption in the residential sector represents about 40% of the total energy use both in Europe and in the US [1,2]. According to the European Commission, by 2030, more than 50 GW of wind power and more than 50 GW of solar energy could be held by energy communities, representing 17% and 21% of installed capacity, respectively This will not be possible without the digitization of energy systems that will allow efficient energy management of distributed storage capacities, prosumer production and consumption. These include highly efficient insulating spray-foam insulation, high-efficiency solar panels, high-efficiency heat pumps and low-E triple-glazed windows These innovations have been significantly improved by academic research, through scientific papers and complex projects which collects precise energy performance data on traditional and experimental buildings and provides performance parameters which should be considered for the development of solutions than can increase the energy efficiency. Ten houses would gain much greater benefits from a single Powerwall than a single household
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