Experimental Evaluation of Simple Thermal Storage Control Strategies in Low-Energy Solar Houses to Reduce Electricity Consumption during Grid On-Peak Periods

Kyoung-Ho Lee, Moon-Chang Joo and Nam-Choon Baek
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Kyoung-Ho Lee: Solar Thermal Laboratory, New and Renewable Energy Research Division, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon 305-343, Korea
Moon-Chang Joo: Solar Thermal Laboratory, New and Renewable Energy Research Division, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon 305-343, Korea
Nam-Choon Baek: Solar Thermal Laboratory, New and Renewable Energy Research Division, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon 305-343, Korea

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: There is growing interest in zero-energy and low-energy buildings, which have a net energy consumption (on an annual basis) of almost zero. Because they can generate both electricity and thermal energy through the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal collectors, and with the help of reduced building thermal demand, low-energy buildings can not only make a significant contribution to energy conservation on an annual basis, but also reduce energy consumption and peak demand. This study focused on electricity consumption during the on-peak period in a low-energy residential solar building and considers the use of a building’s thermal mass and thermal storage to reduce electricity consumption in summer and winter by modulation of temperature setpoints for heat pump and indoor thermostats in summer and additional use of a solar heating loop in winter. Experiments were performed at a low-energy solar demonstration house that has solar collectors, hot water storage, a ground-coupled heat pump, and a thermal storage tank. It was assumed that the on-peak periods were from 2 pm to 5 pm on hot summer days and from 5 pm to 8 pm on cold winter days. To evaluate the potential for utilizing the building’s thermal storage capacity in space cooling and heating, the use of simple control strategies on three test days in summer and two test days in the early spring were compared in terms of net electricity consumption and peak demand, which also considered the electricity generation from solar PV modules on the roof of the house.

Keywords: peak demand; setpoint control; peak period; low-energy solar house; building thermal mass; buffer thermal storage (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: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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