Abstract
The improvement of energy efficiency plays an important role to ensure sustainable electrical operation in large-scale buildings. In relation to the low-cost electrical components, a capacitor is an electrical component that can be used to sustain or improve the operating performance of an unbalanced electrical system in large-scale buildings so that energy efficiency improvement can be obtained. This is important to overcome the ineffective utilization of energy caused by the occurrence of power losses in an unbalanced electrical system of large-scale buildings. Further improvement of energy efficiency can be obtained by reducing an excessive amount of incoming power through the determination of tap setting for incoming transformer, and this is classified under the concept of conservative voltage regulation (CVR) approach. In order to solve the problem, the optimal capacitor placement and sizing (OCPS) with CVR is introduced as a new approach for energy efficiency improvement while ensuring a sustainable operation in an unbalanced electrical system of large-scale buildings. The proposed technique utilizes the artificial intelligence (AI) based differential evolution particle swarm optimization (DEPSO) technique with the objective function of total cost minimization for the real power losses, real power consumption, and capacitors installation. The effectiveness of the proposed technique to achieve energy efficiency improvement is investigated through a case study of an unbalanced electrical system in a large-scale office building. The significance of the research output is related to its low-cost technology that has the potential for a comprehensive, pragmatic implementation in large-scale buildings, and subsequently, it will significantly accelerate the increase of national agenda in energy efficiency.
Highlights
Energy efficiency improvement is a popular research stream that comprises the implementation of several types of advanced technological concept in large-scale buildings [1,2]
This section contains a detail discussion on the comparative analyses conducted on the results obtained from the combination of conservative voltage reduction (CVR) and optimal capacitor placement and sizing (OCPS) performed using the differential evolution particle swarm optimization (DEPSO) technique
It is obvious that the CVR and OCPS based DEPSO technique contributes to the objective function, OFnp (k), of RM 1,701,138.90 per year that is smaller than the result of RM 1,769,290.58 per year provided by the CVR and OCPS based PSO technique
Summary
Energy efficiency improvement is a popular research stream that comprises the implementation of several types of advanced technological concept in large-scale buildings [1,2]. Previous studies report that the major cause of inefficient energy usage in most large-scale buildings is the disproportionate management and unsustainable operation of space heating and conditioning, water heating, lighting, electrical system, as well as the use of computers, electrical appliances, and other electronic devices [3]. The basic principle of energy efficiency enhancement within large-scale buildings is to use less energy in the operation of its system without causing discomfort and health deficiency to the occupants. Previous researches have shown that energy efficiency can be achieved up to 20 to 30 percent through the implementation of several initiatives that promote an optimal operation and management in large-scale buildings [4]. Despite its proven efficacy to reduce the energy consumption of large-scale buildings, the proposed HVAC systems are constructed based on expensive design options [11]
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