Investigation of Energy and Environmental Potentials of a Renewable Trigeneration System in a Residential Application

Eun-Chul Kang, Euy-Joon Lee, Mohamed Ghorab, Libing Yang, Evgueniy Entchev, Kwang-Seob Lee and Nam-Jin Lyu
Additional contact information
Eun-Chul Kang: Renewable Energy Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeo 305-343, Korea
Euy-Joon Lee: Renewable Energy Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeo 305-343, Korea
Mohamed Ghorab: Natural Resources Canada, CanmetENERGY, 1 Haanel Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 1M1, Canada
Libing Yang: Natural Resources Canada, CanmetENERGY, 1 Haanel Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 1M1, Canada
Evgueniy Entchev: Natural Resources Canada, CanmetENERGY, 1 Haanel Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 1M1, Canada
Kwang-Seob Lee: Renewable Energy Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeo 305-343, Korea
Nam-Jin Lyu: TapSol, 591 Yulam-ri, Paltan-myeon, Hwasung-si, Gyeonggi-do 445-913, Korea

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: Micro polygeneration utilizing renewable energy is a suitable approach to reduce energy consumption and carbon emission by offering high-efficiency performance, offsetting the need for centrally-generated grid electricity and avoiding transmission/distribution losses associated with it. This paper investigates the energy and environmental potential of a renewable trigeneration system in a residential application under Incheon (Korea) and Ottawa (Canada) weather conditions. The trigeneration system consists of a ground-to-air heat exchanger (GAHX), photovoltaic thermal (PVT) panels and an air-to-water heat pump (AWHP). The study is performed by simulations in TRNSYS (Version 17.02) environment. The performance of the trigeneration system is compared to a reference conventional system that utilizes a boiler for space and domestic hot water heating and a chiller for space cooling. Simulation results showed substantial annual primary energy savings from the renewable trigeneration system in comparison to the reference system—45% for Incheon and 42% for Ottawa. The CO 2eq emission reduction from the renewable trigeneration system is also significant, standing at 43% for Incheon and 82% for Ottawa. Furthermore, trigeneration systems’ capability to generate electricity and thermal energy at the point of use is considered as an attractive option for inclusion in the future smart energy network applications.

Keywords: trigeneration; micro-cogeneration; renewable energy; photovoltaic-thermal (PVT); ground-to-air heat exchanger; ground source heat pump; energy and environment (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: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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