Supply Mix Optimization for Decentralized Energy Systems

Abstract

In recent years, the energy sector has undergone an important transformation as a result of technological progress and socio-economic development. The continuous integration of renewable energy sources forces a gradual transition from the traditional business model based on a reduced number of large power plants to a more decentralized energy production. The decentralization and the increased number of energy sources lead to a series of new challenges in the energy sector. This paper presents an approach to determine the optimal energy supply mix for small and medium sized buildings or installations. The optimization algorithm considers the electricity and heat demand and determines the optimal combination of energy sources by minimizing an economic index. The optimization problem can be solved for multiple demand profiles and takes into account the possibility to integrate accumulator systems. The proposed approach provides a high degree of flexibility and can be used to study the influence of the energy prices on the optimal energy supply mix. The performance of the proposed optimization approach is illustrated by the results obtained from a simulation example.