Energy Evaluation of a PV-Based Test Facility for Assessing Future Self-Sufficient Buildings

Angela Amato, Matteo Bilardo, Enrico Fabrizio, Valentina Serra and Filippo Spertino
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Angela Amato: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Matteo Bilardo: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Enrico Fabrizio: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Valentina Serra: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Filippo Spertino: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: In recent years, investigations on advanced technological solutions aiming to achieve high-energy performance in buildings have been carried out by research centers and universities, in accordance with the reduction in buildings’ energy consumption required by European Union. However, even if the research and design of new technological solutions makes it possible to achieve the regulatory objectives, a building’s performance during operation deviates from simulations. To deepen this topic, interesting studies have focused on testing these solutions on full-scale facilities used for real-life activities. In this context, a test facility will be built in the university campus of Politecnico di Torino (Italy). The facility has been designed to be an all-electric nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB), where heating and cooling demand will be fulfilled by an air-source heat pump and photovoltaic generators will meet the energy demand. In this paper, the facility energy performance is evaluated through a dynamic simulation model. To improve energy self-sufficiency, the integration of lithium-ion batteries in a HVAC system is investigated and their storage size is optimized. Moreover, the facility has been divided into three units equipped with independent electric systems with the aim of estimating the benefits of local energy sharing. The simulation results clarify that the facility meets the expected energy performance, and that it is consistent with a typical European nZEB. The results also demonstrate that the local use of photovoltaic energy can be enhanced thanks to batteries and local energy sharing, achieving a greater independence from the external electrical grid. Furthermore, the analysis of the impact of the local energy sharing makes the case study of particular interest, as it represents a simplified approach to the energy community concept. Thus, the results clarify the academic potential for this facility, in terms of both research and didactic purposes.

Keywords: building energy performance; building renewables integration; PV-based; test facility; battery energy storage potential; local energy sharing potential; self-sufficiency; self-consumption (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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