Multi-Energy School System for Seasonal Use in the Mediterranean Area

Antonino D’Amico,Antonio Messineo,Domenico Panno,Giuseppina Ciulla

doi:10.3390/su12208458

Antonino D’Amico, Antonio Messineo + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208458

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Abstract

School buildings represent an energy-consuming sector of real estate where different efficiency actions are necessary. The literature shows how the design of a multi-energy system offers numerous advantages, however, there are problems related to the integration of cogeneration units with renewable energy sources due to the low flexibility of the first one and the high degree of uncertainty of the latter. The authors provide an alternative solution through the analysis of a case study consisting of a multiple energy system in three Sicilian schools, focusing on the system’s operational strategy, on the design and sizing of components and trying to exploit the energy needs complementarity of buildings instead of integrating the conventional energy storage systems. Not considering school activities in summer, it was decided to install a cogeneration unit sized on winter thermal loads, whereas the electricity demand not covered was reduced with photovoltaic systems designed to maximize production for seasonal use and with loads concentrated in the morning hours. The effectiveness of this idea, which can be replicated for similar users and areas, is proved by a payback time of less than 11 years and a reduction of 31.77% of the CO2 emissions.

Highlights

Nowadays, the increase in energy efficiency is a priority topic in the world’s scientific community, which mainly focuses its attention especially on those energy-intensive sectors considered weaker from the efficiency point of view
Not considering school activities in summer, it was decided to install a cogeneration unit sized on winter thermal loads, whereas the electricity demand not covered was reduced with photovoltaic systems designed to maximize production for seasonal use and with loads concentrated in the morning hours
The results show a significant reduction in primary energy consumption, CO2 emissions and costs compared to “separated” conventional heating systems

Summary

Introduction

The increase in energy efficiency is a priority topic in the world’s scientific community, which mainly focuses its attention especially on those energy-intensive sectors considered weaker from the efficiency point of view. There are many studies carried out in this sector, which involve various modeling approaches and tools [3,4] In this sense, Keirstead et al [5] seek to clarify the topic with a review including the analysis of 219 papers examining the opportunities to improve the modeling of urban energy systems. A district approach allows for a transition away from fossil fuel use towards forms of cleaner energy, which alone can reduce the primary energy consumption by about 30–50% [8]. This happen because the district energy systems (DESs) simultaneously supply users with electricity and heat for heating and/or cooling

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