Optimal Decision-Making of Renewable Energy Systems in Buildings in the Early Design Stage

Renewable energy systems (RES) in buildings should be designed carefully, not only because of the need for an optimal design, but also to comply with related laws. Therefore, the design of RES in the buildings requires close collaboration between architects and engineers from the beginning of the design process. To support such collaboration, this study proposes a simplified design method for RES in buildings during the early design stage. By using the proposed design method, design alternatives that meet the required energy standards as suggested by law are first generated. Further designs are made to evaluate the performance and cost of the design alternatives and to find the optimal types of RES for the building. The study also uses a case study to verify the applicability of the design method to the early design stage. Although the performance and cost of the different design alternatives are similar, the implementation of each type of RES in each design alternative is different. Nonetheless, by analyzing performance patterns and the cost ratio of each type of RES in each design alternative, the study allows the most suitable type of RES to be chosen for the building.

Download Full-text

A Robust Optimization for Designing a Charging Station Based on Solar and Wind Energy for Electric Vehicles of a Smart Home in Small Villages

10.20944/preprints201806.0316.v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Amir Ahadi ◽

Shrutidhara Sarma ◽

Jae Sang Moon ◽

Jang Ho Lee

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Electric Vehicles ◽

Storage System ◽

Real Life ◽

Energy Systems ◽

Energy Storage System ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Design Stage ◽

Renewable Energy Systems ◽

Charging Station

In recent years, integration of electric vehicles (EVs) has increased dramatically due to their lower carbon emissions and reduced fossil fuel dependency. However, charging EVs could have significant impacts on the electrical grid. One promising method for mitigating these impacts is the use of renewable energy systems. Renewable energy systems can also be useful for charging EVs where there is no local grid. This paper proposes a new strategy for designing a renewable energy charging station consisting of wind turbines, a photovoltaic system, and an energy storage system to avoid the use of diesel generators in remote communities. The objective function is considered to be the minimization of the total net present cost, including energy production, components setup, and financial viability. The proposed approach, using stochastic modeling, can also guarantee profitable operation of EVs and reasonable effects on renewable energy sizing, narrowing the gap between real-life daily operation patterns and the design stage. The proposed strategy should enhance the efficiency of conventional EV charging stations. The key point of this study is the efficient use of excess electricity. The infrastructure of the charging station is optimized and modeled.

Download Full-text

Study of Metamodeling Techniques and Their Applications in Engineering Design

10.1115/imece1999-0659 ◽

1999 ◽

Author(s):

Nanxin Wang ◽

Ping Ge

Keyword(s):

Engineering Design ◽

Computing Time ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Surrogate Models ◽

Design Stage ◽

Academic Field ◽

Early Design ◽

Early Design Stage ◽

Linear Partial Differential Equations ◽

Design Alternatives

Abstract Physics based or mechanistic simulation models are frequently used in current engineering design to generate, evaluate and validate designs in order to shorten the design cycle time and reduce the cost. It often involves solving a set of none linear partial differential equations, which usually requires a lot of computing time to search for a solution. It can not satisfy the need to explore more design alternatives in the early design stage. Metamodeling is an active academic field and is attracting increased attention from the industry. Surrogate models built with the metamodeling techniques provide faster analysis alternatives to the mechanistic models. Using these surrogate models in the early design stage allows engineers to explore more design alternatives with less development time and therefore has the potential to enable better engineering decision to produce quality products for reduced cost. In this paper, we review the existing metamodeling techniques including design of experiments, response surface methodologies, machine learning, and kriging. The paper also documents the results of the performance evaluation of several different metamodeling tools using a vehicle greenhouse example.

Download Full-text

Economic Solution of the Tri-Generation System Using Photovoltaic-Thermal and Ground Source Heat Pump for Zero Energy Building (ZEB) Realization

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12173304 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (17) ◽

pp. 3304 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sangmu Bae ◽

Yujin Nam ◽

Ivor da Cunha

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Energy Analysis ◽

Design Method ◽

Energy Systems ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Generation System ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Efficient System ◽

Renewable Energy Systems ◽

Zero Energy Building

The zero energy building (ZEB) is being introduced as a new energy policy in the building sector. Accordingly, to realize the ZEB, renewable energy systems that can produce energy are essential. Various hybrid systems are being proposed to develop a more efficient system than individual renewable energy systems, among which tri-generation systems are attracting attention. In this study, in order to find an economic solution of a tri-generation system for the realization of ZEB, the simulation model using the dynamic energy analysis code was constructed and a feasibility study was conducted. Moreover, the conventional design method and the design method for ZEB realization were proposed, and the return on investment (ROI) was calculated according to four local conditions and two design methods. As a result of energy analysis, the energy self-sufficiency (ES) in Seoul, Ulsan, Ottawa and Toronto were calculated as 62%, 65.1%, 57.7%, and 60.2%, respectively. Moreover, results of feasibility analysis compared to a conventional system showed that the payback period of the tri-generation system in South Korea was within 13 years, and Canada was within 10 years.

Download Full-text

Novel Methodology for Sizing a Single U-Tube Ground Heat Exchanger Useful at the Early Design Stage

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings11120651 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 651

Author(s):

Seung-Hyo Baek ◽

Byung-Hee Lee ◽

Myoung-Souk Yeo

Keyword(s):

Heat Exchanger ◽

Energy Efficient ◽

Design Method ◽

Energy System ◽

Design Stage ◽

Design Parameters ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Ground Heat Exchanger ◽

Early Design ◽

Early Design Stage

Renewable energy system (RES) is an environmentally friendly source of energy. A suitable design of RES is crucial to implement an energy-efficient building such as a zero energy building (ZEB). The significance of appropriate decision-making for the successful implementation of energy-efficient buildings has been increasing. In addition, the identification of the sizing of RES is equally important for architects or HVAC engineers. In this study, a novel sizing method for a single U-tube ground heat exchanger (GHE) is proposed. A transient thermal analysis for a single GHE is performed by considering ground temperature recovery effect as well as other major design parameters. The results are used to design the proposed sizing method and were verified by transient simulations for different design cases. Additionally, it was observed that the coefficient of variation of root mean square error (CV(RMSE)) for all ten design cases was lower than 15% during the heating and cooling seasons. Thus, the proposed design method can be used for sizing a GHE in the early design stage.

Download Full-text