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Optimal Control Strategies of Seasonal Storage Devices for District Energy Management

Overview

Building energy management is an active field of research as the potential in energy savings can be substantial. The energy supply options have increased with the introduction of renewables and the possibility of cooperative energy management within energy-hubs. The energy hub houses the expensive but energy efficient equipment that is shared by the building community, and provides the opportunity for load shifting operation among interconnected buildings. Significant efficiency gains can be envisaged but require sophisticated control systems that can handle the variability in energy prices, supplies and reliability in the presence of operational uncertainties, such as weather and occupancy.

Project Description

The specific SA/MA project is focused on determining an optimal control strategy that can efficiently utilise the seasonal storage capabilities of the energy hub. This is a particularly challenging task when considering (a) the different time-scales involved between the seasonal storage and the buildings operation, and (b) the uncertainty introduced by lack of long-term weather predictions that can essentially affect the seasonal storage's optimal operation.

This work will mainly focus on the development of an appropriate stochastic model predictive controller that copes with the challenges introduced by the inclusion of seasonal storage, and operates the combined energy hub and buildings system.