Energy Hub Optimization on Residential Building Case

Abstract

The growth of the energy consumed, have led to the need of upgrading and restructuring the operation of existing energy systems in the building sector. In context, goals of reducing the primary energy consumption based on fossil fuels and the limitation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere, were set, in order to enhance the provision of affordable and generally clean energy for the citizens. In addition, the European Union (EU) promotes the utilization of energy systems based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Αll above highlight the importance of the decision-making process during the design phase of a building. For these reasons, this paper deals with the optimization of multi energy systems, introducing the concept of the Energy Hub, in order to cover the thermal demands of a residential building located in Thessaloniki (Greece). The proposed methodology includes the calculation of the building energy demands on a monthly basis via the simulation program FineGREEN19. Afterwards, a Mathematical Programming model was constructed, in order to provide the optimization scheme of multi energy systems, considering different criteria. The criteria include the minimization of economic, energy and environmental aspects, considering the concept of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) was used to model the optimization problem. The results of Single Criteria Optimization problem figure out the contradictory between the criteria, showing that the use of the optimization models can improve and facilitate the building design.