Energy Sustainability of Food Stores and Supermarkets through the Installation of PV Integrated Plants

Alessandro Franco and Giacomo Cillari
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Alessandro Franco: Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Giacomo Cillari: Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: Food stores and supermarkets are buildings, often with rather similar structures characterized by large surfaces and a single floor, that are particularly energy intensive. The energy uses associated with them are mainly electrical, in connection with air conditioning and food refrigeration. These buildings are particularly interesting for a systematic application of photovoltaic (PV) generation technology. After an analysis of the main energy consumption parameters and of the most common benchmarking approaches, standard solutions for the sizing of photovoltaic systems are proposed based on different design objectives, highlighting the potential of each solution proposed. Two specific indicators are defined for the sizing processes. The methodology is tested with reference to two different stores under the zero grid-injection restriction. The results showed how the degree of self-sufficiency for a supermarket obtained with a PV plant can be of the order of 20% in cases without storage system and can be increased over 50% and up to 70–75% but only using relevant battery storage dimensions.

Keywords: food stores; energy intensity; renewable energy systems; PV plants; sustainability (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
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