Session: 02-03 Building Management and Control

Paper Number: 107282

107282 - Multi-Objective Optimization of Distributed Energy Systems Considering Time-of-Use Pricing Impacts 

With carbon neutrality becoming an environmental protection goal for many countries and societies all around the world, how to reduce fossil fuel energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission has attracted widespread attention. Distributed energy systems (DES) have been considered as a promising solution due to the benefits on efficiency and environment sides. However, despite the rapid development of distributed energy resources and technologies, the share of distributed energy generation is still small in comparison to that of traditional generation. Time-of-use (TOU) pricing can be an important incentive strategy to encourage the penetration of distributed energy systems. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization considering the time-of-use pricing impacts is proposed to determine the optimal configuration and capacity of distributed energy systems involving different technologies including solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal collector (STC), combined cooling, heating, and power system (CCHP), and integrated energy storage (ES). The distributed energy system is designed to satisfy the electric and thermal load of commercial buildings (large hotel and medium office) partially or entirely. The proposed multi-objective optimization is utilized to configure the optimal combination of distributed energy technologies as well as the system capacity to reduce both the cost and environmental impact of the system in different locations. Results show that the proposed optimization method can achieve a trade-off between system cost and environmental impact based on the existing time-of-use pricing structure.

Presenting Author: Jian Zhang University of Wisconsin Green Bay

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Jian Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Resch School of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University in August 2018. He has broad research interests in the area of thermal fluid science with an emphasis on advanced thermal / energy systems and technologies. His current research includes developing and optimization of renewable and distributed energy systems, investigating medium- and low-grade heat recovery technology, and designing and evaluating HVAC systems. He has published 40+ journal and conference papers and have a total of 1000+ citations in Google Scholar. He has been serving as a reviewer for an ample number of internationally renowned journals. In recent years, he keeps serving as Track Chair and Session Chair for ASME Energy Sustainability Conference (Power and Energy Conference) from 2017 to 2021.