Dynamic simulation of an integrated energy system for buildings in cold climates with thermal energy storage

Abstract

In the current study, a building of a Hotel in cold weather conditions is simulated to be powered by a Combined Cooling, Heating and Power (CCHP) system in a transient manner. The system is comprised of photovoltaic thermal panels as renewable technology, coupled with a power block of MGT and cooling devices to produce the needs of the building. To handle the energy flows effectively, the system is able to sense the temperate of ambient with different controllers occupied in the system. Using TRNSYS as a promising and powerful tool to carry out the research dynamically, the thermodynamic, economic, and environmental behavior of the system is investigated. Research results dawned on the fact that the integrated system can generate all the needs of the proposed Hotel. Simulation outcomes indicate that an auxiliary heater plays a critical role since the temperature of 120 degrees C is constantly required for heating and cooling generation, and the power input to the heater is a challenging value. Although the heater is on and working 85% of the year, the results of the system show that in 65% of the year, the generated power is more than the power demand of the house. Moreover, the annual GHG emission is 0.16 Ton/MWh, in which the minimum of CO2 to the environment happens in July, and the maximum happens in January with 0.085 Ton/MWh and 0.17 Ton/MWh, respectively. Exergy analysis results show that the combustion chamber and PVT are the main sources of exergy destruction in the whole system. The building dynamic simulation results show that the system requires 34 kW cooling demand and 47 kW heating demand.