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Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives
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Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2025 | Viewed by 6220

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anastassios Stamatelos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Thermodynamics & Thermal Engines, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Thessaly, GR- 383 34 Volos, Greece
Interests: automotive engines and exhaust aftertreatment systems; hybrid and electric powertains; building energy simulation; infrared thermography; actual efficiency of photovoltaic installations; HVAC engineering; CFD applications in HVAC equipment and industrial heat exchangers
Prof. Dr. Aphrodite Ktena

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Energy Systems Laboratory, General Department, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Euripus Campus, 34400 Evia, Greece
Interests: teaching and learning; pedagogy and education; magnetization processes; magnetic materials; measurement technology; RES microgrids; optimization and forecasting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources and the building and transport electrification are major pathways towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The link between them is the smart power grid. The advances in related technologies are significant enough to allow for policies to be put in place. However, the challenges related to zero-energy buildings to the grid are also significant. Proactive energy management, optimization of nano- or microgrids at building or neighborhood level, charging and discharging of electric vehicles, green hydrogen technologies at building scale, thermal and electrical storage co-optimization, optical and thermal comfort, demand side management and services to the grid, demand response mechanisms and flexibility management, prosumers and market operations, power grid operation and sustainability in the new paradigm, as well as modern user comfort standards delineate a vivid research field which involves, among others, complex tradeoffs between risk tolerance and the capital investment payback period. All topics may be examined from the viewpoint of the building/EV user, the building/neighborhood, or the main grid, not necessarily converging to the same optimal solution or design. This Special Issue aspires to contribute to this important and timely interdisciplinary research area.

Therefore, you are invited to submit your recent research results and review papers to this Special Issue on “Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives”, to be published in MDPI Energies.

Prof. Dr. Anastassios Stamatelos
Prof. Dr. Aphrodite Ktena
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart grids
  • energy communities
  • zero-emission neighborhoods
  • positive energy districts
  • nZEB
  • building energy systems
  • electric vehicles
  • renewable energy systems
  • photovoltaics in buildings
  • chp at building/neighborhood level
  • battery technologies
  • green hydrogen in buildings
  • electrical and thermal storage co-optimization

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 9517 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Electrical and Thermal Storage in a High School Building in Central Greece
by Elias Roumpakias, Olympia Zogou and Antiopi-Malvina Stamatellou
Energies 2024, 17(8), 1966; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17081966 - 20 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1229
Abstract
Nearly zero-emission buildings (nZEBs) are increasingly being constructed in Europe. There are also incentives to refurbish older buildings and transform them into nZEBs. However, permission is not always granted for their connection to the grid to infuse surplus photovoltaic electricity due to the [...] Read more.
Nearly zero-emission buildings (nZEBs) are increasingly being constructed in Europe. There are also incentives to refurbish older buildings and transform them into nZEBs. However, permission is not always granted for their connection to the grid to infuse surplus photovoltaic electricity due to the grid being overloaded with a large number of renewables. In this study, the case of a refurbished school building in Central Greece is examined. After refurbishing it, a significant amount of photovoltaic electricity surplus is observed during the summer and neutral months, which cannot be exported to the grid. The absence of an adequate battery storage capacity resulted in the rejection of an application for exporting the school’s surplus to the network and the photovoltaic installation staying idle. An alternative approach is proposed in this work, involving a shift in the export of the photovoltaic electricity surplus to the evening hours, in order for the school to be granted permission to export it to the network. To this end, an optimal battery storage size is sought by employing a building energy system simulation. The mode of operation of the battery designed for this application is set to discharge daily, in order to export the electricity surplus in the afternoon hours to the evening hours, when it is favorable for the network. Additionally, the optimal size of the thermal energy storage of the heating system is studied to further improve its energy efficiency. Our battery and storage tank size optimization study shows that a significant battery capacity is required, with 12 kWh/kWp photovoltaic panels being recommended for installation. The ever-decreasing cost of battery installations results in the net present value (NPV) of the additional investment for the battery installation becoming positive. The solution proposed forms an alternative path to further increase the penetration of renewables in saturated networks in Greece by optimizing battery storage capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives)
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27 pages, 5321 KiB  
Article
The Interaction between Short- and Long-Term Energy Storage in an nZEB Office Building
by George Stamatellos and Antiopi-Malvina Stamatellou
Energies 2024, 17(6), 1441; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17061441 - 17 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1061
Abstract
The establishment of near-autonomous micro-grids in commercial or public building complexes is gaining increasing popularity. Short-term storage capacity is provided by means of large battery installations, or, more often, by the employees’ increasing use of electric vehicle batteries, which are allowed to operate [...] Read more.
The establishment of near-autonomous micro-grids in commercial or public building complexes is gaining increasing popularity. Short-term storage capacity is provided by means of large battery installations, or, more often, by the employees’ increasing use of electric vehicle batteries, which are allowed to operate in bi-directional charging mode. In addition to the above short-term storage means, a long-term storage medium is considered essential to the optimal operation of the building’s micro-grid. The most promising long-term energy storage carrier is hydrogen, which is produced by standard electrolyzer units by exploiting the surplus electricity produced by photovoltaic installation, due to the seasonal or weekly variation in a building’s electricity consumption. To this end, a novel concept is studied in this paper. The details of the proposed concept are described in the context of a nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) and the associated micro-grid. The hydrogen produced is stored in a high-pressure tank to be used occasionally as fuel in an advanced technology hydrogen spark ignition engine, which moves a synchronous generator. A size optimization study is carried out to determine the genset’s rating, the electrolyzer units’ capacity and the tilt angle of the rooftop’s photovoltaic panels, which minimize the building’s interaction with the external grid. The hydrogen-fueled genset engine is optimally sized to 40 kW (0.18 kW/kWp PV). The optimal tilt angle of the rooftop PV panels is 39°. The maximum capacity of the electrolyzer units is optimized to 72 kW (0.33 kWmax/kWp PV). The resulting system is tacitly assumed to integrate to an external hydrogen network to make up for the expected mismatches between hydrogen production and consumption. The significance of technology in addressing the current challenges in the field of energy storage and micro-grid optimization is discussed, with an emphasis on its potential benefits. Moreover, areas for further research are highlighted, aiming to further advance sustainable energy solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives)
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19 pages, 7929 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Effectiveness of an Innovative Thermal Energy Storage System Installed in a Building in a Moderate Continental Climatic Zone
by Luis Coelho, Maria K. Koukou, John Konstantaras, Michail Gr. Vrachopoulos, Amandio Rebola, Anastasia Benou, Constantine Karytsas, Pavlos Tourou, Constantinos Sourkounis, Heiko Gaich and Johan Goldbrunner
Energies 2024, 17(3), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17030763 - 5 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1465
Abstract
In the present work, the operating results from an innovative, renewable, energy-based space-heating and domestic hot water (DHW) system are shown. The system used solar thermal energy as its primary source and was assisted by a shallow geothermal application in order to accommodate [...] Read more.
In the present work, the operating results from an innovative, renewable, energy-based space-heating and domestic hot water (DHW) system are shown. The system used solar thermal energy as its primary source and was assisted by a shallow geothermal application in order to accommodate the space-heating and DHW needs of a domestic building in Austria. The system incorporated phase-change materials (PCMs) in specially designed containers to function as heat-storage modules and provide an energy storage capability for both the space-heating and DHW subsystems. This system was designed, implemented, and tested under real operating conditions in a building for a period of one year. The operating and energy results for the system are demonstrated in this work. The system was compared with a conventional one, and a reduction in the primary energy consumption equal to 84.3% was achieved. The maintenance and operating costs of the system were reduced by 79.7% compared to the conventional system, thus significantly contributing to the NZEB target of the building. The newly proposed system, although presenting an increased operating complexity, utilizes an innovative self-learning control system that manages all of its operations. The combination of a solar thermal energy source with thermal energy storage increases the use of renewable energy by extending the capacity of the system beyond the solar hours and using excess solar energy for space-heating needs. The thermal energy storage unit also increases the energy and economic efficiency of the geothermal heat pump by operating it during the hours of a reduced electricity tariff and using the stored energy during hours of a high electricity demand. The cost for the installation of such a system is higher than a conventional one, but due to the significantly decreased operating costs, the pay-back period was calculated to be 8.7 years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives)
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19 pages, 8090 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Optimal Power Dispatch in Unbalanced Distribution Networks with Single-Phase Solar PV Units and BESS
by Jordan Radosavljević, Aphrodite Ktena, Milena Gajić, Miloš Milovanović and Jovana Živić
Energies 2023, 16(11), 4356; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114356 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1318
Abstract
Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are a promising solution for increasing efficiency and flexibility of distribution networks (DNs) with a significant penetration level of photovoltaic (PV) systems. There are various issues related to the optimal operation of DNs with integrated PV systems and [...] Read more.
Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are a promising solution for increasing efficiency and flexibility of distribution networks (DNs) with a significant penetration level of photovoltaic (PV) systems. There are various issues related to the optimal operation of DNs with integrated PV systems and BESS that need to be addressed to maximize DN performance. This paper deals with day-ahead optimal active–reactive power dispatching in unbalanced DNs with integrated single-phase PV generation and BESS. The objectives are the minimization of cost for electricity, energy losses in the DN, and voltage unbalance at three-phase load buses by optimal management of active and reactive power flows. To solve this highly constrained non-linear optimization problem, a hybrid particle swarm optimization with sigmoid-based acceleration coefficients (PSOS) and a chaotic gravitational search algorithm (CGSA)called the PSOS-CGSA algorithm is proposed. A scenario-based approach encompassing the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method with a simultaneous backward reduction algorithm is used for the probabilistic assessment of the uncertainty of PV generation and power of loads. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is evaluated through aseries test cases in a modified IEEE 13-bus feeder. The simulation results show that the proposed approach enables a large reduction in daily costs for electricity, as well as a reduction in expected daily energy losses in the DN by 22% compared to the base case without BESS while ensuring that the phase voltage unbalance rate (PVUR) is below the maximum limit of 2% for all three-phase buses in the DN. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid Integration of Zero Energy Buildings: Challenges and Perspectives)
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