Open AccessElectricity demand flexibility potential of optimal building retrofit solutions
Author(s) -
Emmanouil Thrampoulidis,
Kristina Orehounig,
Gabriela Hug
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/2042/1/012149
Subject(s) - flexibility (engineering) , electricity , greenhouse gas , demand response , process (computing) , environmental economics , time horizon , electricity demand , supply and demand , mains electricity , consumption (sociology) , computer science , peak demand , roof , architectural engineering , environmental science , electricity generation , power (physics) , engineering , business , civil engineering , economics , microeconomics , electrical engineering , social science , voltage , sociology , ecology , biology , operating system , management , quantum mechanics , physics , finance
Swiss buildings, the majority of which will last beyond 2050, are responsible for a large share of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, building retrofit is considered as one of the most promising approaches to reduce those shares. However, reducing the energy load should not be an end in itself. The continuous integration of intermittent power sources in the electricity grid imposes new challenges to the supply-demand problem that might directly affect the retrofit process and vice-versa. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a model to analyze the demand flexibility potential of optimal retrofit solutions. Co-simulation and a rolling horizon approach are used to derive upper and lower electricity consumption profiles given some temperature comfort bands. Within those electricity bands, the feasible area provides insights on the extent by which the electricity consumption can be shifted within the comfort constraints. The method is applied to a building archetype. Results show that when the comfort constraints are relaxed the feasible area increases, e.g., up to five times for the case of enhancing the roof insulation, while building retrofit influences the electricity bands. Such a method could enhance the retrofit process and address both the emissions’ and the supply-demand balancing problem.