Technical feasibility of a hybrid on-site H2 and renewable energy system for a zero-energy building with a H2 vehicle

Abstract

The background of this research is based on the commercialization trends of the H2 vehicles and the upcoming legislation on the zero-energy building (ZEB). Regarding these two backgrounds, there is special research interest to investigate the technical feasibility of integrating a H2 vehicle with an on-site renewable electrical (REe) system in the ZEB. Hereby, a hybrid system consisting of an on-site REe and a H2 vehicle integrated H2 system is proposed and set up in the TRNSYS simulation with novel control logics defined by the authors. The essential principle is to drive the electrolyzer with the surplus on-site REe, and to drive the fuel cell to cover the on-site electrical shortage, while the cogenerated heat from the H2 system will be utilized for domestic heating purposes. The simulation results show that with the support of a 14kW wind turbine, the building will be a nearly ZEB with full annual availability of the H2 vehicle, whereas with the support of a 178m2 PV, the building will be a net ZEB with 48days’ annual unavailability of the H2 vehicle. Via a seasonal matching analysis, it can be found that the H2 vehicle integrated H2 system has a significant effect on alleviating the monthly surplus on-site REe generation. By relieving the condition of discharging the H2 storage by the fuel cell, both the on-site surplus REe and energy shortage will be further reduced and the cogenerated heat from the H2 system can be increased. Therefore, the research approves that it is technically feasible to simultaneously meet the zero-emission fuel requirement of the H2 vehicle, the convenient accessibility of the H2 refuelling station, the fulfillment of the zero energy balance of the building, and the highest matching capability between generation and demand.