Abstract
The idea that households produce and consume their own energy, that is, energy self-sufficiency at a very local level, captures the popular imagination and commands political support across parts of Europe. This paper investigates the technical and economic feasibility of household energy self-sufficiency in Switzerland, which can be seen as representative for other regions with a temperate climate, by 2050. We compare sixteen cases that vary across four dimensions: household type, building type, electricity demand reduction, and passenger vehicle use patterns. We assume that photovoltaic (PV) electricity supplies all energy, which implies a complete shift away from fossil fuel based heating and internal combustion engine vehicles. Two energy storage technologies are considered: short-term storage in lithium-ion batteries and long-term storage with hydrogen, requiring an electrolyzer, storage tank, and a fuel cell for electricity conversion. We examine technological feasibility and total system costs for self-sufficient households compared to base cases that rely on fossil fuels and the existing power grid. PV efficiency and available rooftop/facade area are most critical with respect to the overall energy balance. Single-family dwellings with profound electricity demand reduction and urban mobility patterns achieve self-sufficiency most easily. Multi-family buildings with conventional electricity demand and rural mobility patterns can only be self-sufficient if PV efficiency increases, and all of the roof plus most of the facade can be covered with PV. All self-sufficient cases are technically feasible but more expensive than fully electrified grid-connected cases. Self-sufficiency may even become cost-competitive in some cases depending on storage and fossil fuel prices. Thus, if political measures improve their financial attractiveness or individuals decide to shoulder the necessary investments, self-sufficient buildings may start to become increasingly prevalent.
Highlights
Climate change mitigation requires eliminating fossil fuel emissions from the energy sector
Energy self-sufficient households with photovoltaics and electric vehicles are feasible in temperate climate at scales ranging from individual buildings to larger political regions [1]
We show that grid-connected and fully electrified cases remain substantially less expensive and are almost always less expensive than corresponding cases that retain the use of fossil fuels for heating and transportation
Summary
Climate change mitigation requires eliminating fossil fuel emissions from the energy sector. Energy self-sufficient households with photovoltaics and electric vehicles are feasible in temperate climate at scales ranging from individual buildings to larger political regions [1]. Energy self-sufficiency is primarily a political goal that requires technical solutions like long-term storage for its actual implementation, the feasibility and costs of which are still unclear [2]. We investigate the technical and economic feasibility of energy-independent households relying on PV electricity for the case of Switzerland, which can be seen as representative for the situation in a temperate and highly industrialized country. The novelty of this study is that we use a single, integrated approach to investigate a range of building types and demand scenarios, while fully considering mobility and heating demand as part of the building’s self-sufficiency
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