Energy–Environment–Economy (3E) Analysis of the Performance of Introducing Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Systems into Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Shenzhen, China

Abstract

As the building industry increasingly adopts various photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage systems (ESSs) to save energy and reduce carbon emissions, it is important to evaluate the comprehensive effectiveness of these technologies to ensure their smooth implementation. In this study, a building project in Shenzhen was taken as a case study and energy–environment–economy (3E) analysis was performed to evaluate four strategies for employing PVs and ESSs. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to further compare the effect of the capacity of each strategy. Although the integration of PV and battery systems leads to the highest reduction in energy consumption and life cycle carbon emissions (reaching up to 44%), it has a long payback period (of up to 6.8 years) and a high carbon cost ratio. The integration of PV and ice storage systems is economically viable, with promising energy and environmental performance, indicating a potential reduction of 30 ± 5% in life cycle carbon emissions. As far as electric vehicles (EV) go, adopting two-way charging between the building and the EV can offset the additional power load that the EV requires. The comprehensive evaluation of low-carbon strategies in this study is crucial for sustainable building design and policy-making.