Optimization of Power Dispatch With Load Scheduling for Domestic Fuel Cell-Based Combined Heat and Power System

This study proposes an optimization scheme of thermal power and electric power dispatch integrated with load scheduling for the domestic fuel cell-based combined heat and power (DFCCHP) system. The scheme is implemented in home energy management systems installed in smart homes. To provide accurate energy cost evaluation for the optimization scheme, the nonlinear electric efficiency characteristics of the fuel cell are approximated with a polynomial expression. Along with the inclusion of thermal power dispatch in the scheme, the nonlinear relationship between the thermal power and the electric power of the fuel cell is incorporated to design temperature constraints in the DFCCHP system. On top of the nonlinearity and complexity of the fuel cell, residential electric load scheduling and other energy sources including the power grid, PV panels, and battery energy storage are considered to ensure that the scheme takes a comprehensive energy management approach. Because of the nonlinearity that exists in the modeling of the DFCCHP system, a mixed-integer nonlinear programming formulation is utilized to solve the optimization problem. The scheme is tested in a day-ahead environment with time-varying electricity prices and natural gas prices. The optimization aims to minimize the electricity cost and natural gas cost. It is shown in the simulation that optimization scheme dispatches the electric power and thermal power in an optimal way so that the energy cost due to time-varying electricity prices and natural gas prices is minimized. The electricity cost optimization puts both power purchase and power selling into consideration. It is also shown in the simulation that the household loads are scheduled in an optimal way to the time slots with lower electricity prices in accordance with the optimal thermal and electric power dispatch.