Toward a Subhourly Net Zero Energy District Design Through Integrated Building and Distribution System Modeling

Katharine Doubleday, Andrew Parker, Shanti Pless, Brian Hodge, Benjamin Irwin, Samuel Hancock, Faeza Hafiz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus Citations

Abstract

A modeling framework integrating both building energy modeling and power system modeling is introduced for the design of net zero energy (NZE) districts for the simultaneous selection of both demand-side efficiency measures and supply-side generation technologies. A novel district control scheme is proposed for pursuing NZE on a subhourly basis while mitigating potential grid impacts such as power backfeeding and voltage violations. As a case study, Peña Station NEXT, a new 100-building, mixed-use district on a 1200-node distribution feeder in Denver, Colorado, is modeled in the integrated framework. An exhaustive scenario analysis is conducted for sizing the district's distributed energy resources, considering multiple objectives such as capital cost, net energy import, and equipment violations. When trying to achieve annual NZE, the district incurs frequent operating violations, and achieving NZE on a 15-min basis is also limited by seasonal fluctuations in photovoltaic output, illustrating the need for diverse generation or seasonal storage. As a practical compromise, both annual and 15-min district import can be reduced by ∼78% without significant violations.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number036301
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 U.S. Government.

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-5D00-72279

Keywords

  • building energy modeling
  • net zero energy
  • OpenDSS
  • OpenStudio
  • power system planning
  • URBANopt

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