The paper presents a feasible model of architecture for the technical building systems (TBS) particularly suitable for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs). NZEBs are buildings where the energetic consumption are optimized by means of solutions that drastically reduce both electric and thermal demand, while residual required energy has to be provided by local renewable generation.

The suggested model aggregates the users around an electric node in a common microgrid in order to reach up the threshold value of electric power and to get a more virtuous and flexible cumulative load profile. The building (or a group of buildings) represents the natural limit of the aggregation of the electric systems, like in the heating systems. Present proposal is a full electric smart micro grid with heating and domestic hot water generated by a centralized electric heat pump system.

The renewable energy is provided by a photovoltaic field. The authors suggest to control the whole electric demand of the building by exploiting its thermal inertia as an energy storage by forcing both local and central set points of heating and air conditioning systems and time shifting opportunities of smart appliances. A case study is presented.

Luigi Martirano; Emanuele Habib; Giuseppe Parise; Giacomo Greco; Matteo Manganelli; Ferdinando Massarella; Luigi Parise, Smart micro grids for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings, 2016 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, DOI: 10.1109/IAS.2016.7731831

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The paper presents a feasible model of architecture for the technical building systems (TBS) particularly suitable for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs). The suggested model aggregates the users around an electric node, in order to reach up the threshold value of electric power and to get a more virtuous and flexible cumulative load profile. Present proposal is a full electric common smart micro grid with a single point of connection, with heating and domestic hot water generated by a centralized electric heat pump system. The renewable energy is provided by a photovoltaic field connected to the common grid.

A Building Automation Control System operates those electric TBS modulating the global load for a building demand response (DR). The effectiveness of the proposed model consists in exploiting thermal inertia as an energy storage, by forcing both local and central set points of heating and air conditioning systems. The control is based on the integrated and common operation of all users and all systems of the building as one unique “large user”. The integrated management of the grid is operated to control the whole electric demand exploiting the self consumption, avoiding peaks and maintaining a flat load profile.

The suggested micro grid model allows concretely the possibility to realize a building DR with benefits for the end-users in a consumer view point. A study of the effect of these control opportunities on whole electric demand is done by simulation on a case study.

Luigi Martirano, Emanuele Habib, Giuseppe Parise, Giacomo Greco, Marta Cianfrini, Luigi Parise, Ferdinando Massarella, Paolo di Laura Frattura, Demand side management in mixed residential/commercial buildings with PV on site generation, IEEE I&CPS 2017, 8-11 May 2017, Niagara Falls, Canada; DOI: 10.1109/ICPS.2017.7945093