Improving an Integer Linear Programming Model of an Ecovat Buffer by Adding Long-Term Planning

Gijs J. H. de Goeijen, Gerard J. M. Smit and Johann L. Hurink
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Gijs J. H. de Goeijen: Department EEMCS, University of Twente, Enschede 7522 NB, The Netherlands
Gerard J. M. Smit: Department EEMCS, University of Twente, Enschede 7522 NB, The Netherlands
Johann L. Hurink: Department EEMCS, University of Twente, Enschede 7522 NB, The Netherlands

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: The Ecovat is a seasonal thermal storage solution consisting of a large underground water tank divided into a number of virtual segments that can be individually charged and discharged. The goal of the Ecovat is to supply heat demand to a neighborhood throughout the entire year. In this work, we extend an integer linear programming model to describe the charging and discharging of such an Ecovat buffer by adding a long-term (yearly) planning step to the model. We compare the results from the model using this extension to previously obtained results and show significant improvements when looking at the combination of costs and the energy content of the buffer at the end of the optimization. Furthermore, we show that the model is very robust against prediction errors. For this, we compare two different cases: one case in which we assume perfect predictions are available and one case in which we assume no predictions are available. The largest observed difference in costs between these two cases is less than 2%.

Keywords: smart grids; seasonal thermal storage; modeling; integer linear programming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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