Energy flexibility analysis and model predictive control performances of space heating in Japanese zero energy house

Abstract

With improved building energy-saving standards and development of on-site renewable energy, efficient energy management strategies and enhanced energy flexibility can play crucial role in decarbonizing the building energy system. In this work, the potential of the thermal energy flexibility of space heating in Japanese zero energy house is analyzed based on real measurements and a reduced-order simulation model. The impacts of relevant parameters on energy flexibility were provided under different conditions. The model predictive control (MPC) framework was then developed for the house space heating system, and it formulated the optimization as a mixed-integer linear programming problem for minimizing energy consumption while maintaining indoor thermal comfort. The results of conducted case studies verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed optimization approach in achieving flexible control of space heating systems. The control performances of the proposed MPC strategies were associated with different objectives, comparative analysis demonstrates that the designed control approach can effectively achieve an optimal trade-off between on-site photovoltaic consumption and thermal comfort by allowing acceptable indoor temperature violations. The energy flexibility provided by the space heating system could achieve an approximately 20% improvement in photovoltaic self-consumption ratio compared to real measurement over the testing period.