Photovoltaic Plant Optimization to Leverage Electric Self Consumption by Harnessing Building Thermal Mass

Carlos Fernández Bandera,Germán Ramos Ruiz,Antonis Peppas,Jaume Salom,Jose Pachano

doi:10.3390/su12020553

Carlos Fernández Bandera, Germán Ramos Ruiz + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020553

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Abstract

The self-consumption without surplus to the grid is one of the aspects of the new Spanish law for prosumers. Increasing the share of renewable energy sources into the grid inherently leads to several constraints. The mismatch between the energy demand and the renewable energy production, which is intermittent in nature, is one of those challenges. Storage offers the possibility to decouple demand and supply, and therefore, it adds flexibility to the electric system. This research evaluates expanding electricity self-consumption without surplus to the grid by harnessing thermal mass storage in the residential sector. The methodology is investigated by using a variable refrigerant flow air conditioner system. Because there is no option to export the excess capacity to the grid, this research proposes an approach to profiting from this surplus energy by activating structural thermal mass, which is quantified from the information acquired using a building energy model. For this purpose, an EnergyPlus model of a flat in Pamplona (Spain) was used. The optimization analysis was based on a set-point modulation control strategy. Results show that under adequate climatological circumstances, the proposed methodology can reduce the total electric energy from the grid between by 60– 80 % .

Highlights

Introduction and Motivation of the WorkRenewable energy plays a critical role in the new decarbonization era
Three different scenarios were compared: (a) scenario 1 (SC1) is the model without any renewable energy; (b) scenario 2 (SC2) is the model with PV production and a fixed set-point of 20 °C; and (c) scenario 3 (SC3) is the model optimized by using maximum PV production with a set of variable set-points between 20 and 25 °C
The results show that dependence on energy from the grid can be reduced in SC3 by 45%–65% compared with SC2 and 70%–80% compared with SC1

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and Motivation of the WorkRenewable energy plays a critical role in the new decarbonization era. Among the most promising of these technologies are photovoltaic panels (PV), but the massive Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) of the past are gone. Their modification is related to the massive price reduction by thorough technological achievements in the PV market [1] and the substantial burden that these supporting schemes caused on the tariffs of electricity. New tools and ideas should be developed to make renewable energy more affordable by reducing the amount of consumed resources involved in their implementation. There is an increasing need for new technological solutions to realize new ideas regarding a grid with more potential to consume renewable energy sources (RES) [2]

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