On Decisive Storage Parameters for Minimizing Energy Supply Costs in Multicarrier Energy Systems

Abstract

Energy storage is one possibility to cope with increasing fluctuating renewable generation in power systems. Especially when considering a number of different energy carriers, synergies enable a reduction in energy supply costs and an increase in operational flexibility. However, the devices have to be selected carefully since installation and operation are generally costly. This paper examines the influence of storage capacity and prediction horizon on the cost optimal multienergy supply of a single-family house and a network of three interconnected houses. Similarities and differences of the two cases are assessed. The energy hub concept is chosen to model the conversion and storage of the energy carriers electricity, gas, and heat. Then, model predictive control is applied to determine the cost optimal control strategy of the available conversion and storage technologies. The results show that storage capacity and the selection of the prediction horizon strongly depend on each other, both in the case of private customers and interconnected houses. Thereby, the prediction horizon is more crucial as it determines the amount of available information to operate the storage devices optimally.