Design Optimization of Integrated Renewables and Energy Storage for Commercial Buildings

The decreasing cost of distributed technologies and digitalization and the increased openness of the electricity market transform buildings into active market participants. Energy-intensive buildings explore integrated renewables and distributed technologies to improve the building’s energy efficiency, reduce utility grid power and ultimately reduce the energy cost. This study proposes a design optimization methodology to achieve potential cost savings in buildings by identifying the optimal capacities of onsite renewables and other distributed technologies. The potential cost savings typically depend on buildings load characteristics, utility grid tariffs, and distributed technologies cost. A case study on a moderate-scale energy-intensive building in Singapore has been conducted. It shows that solar PV readily guarantees cost reduction while electrical and cold energy storage currently offers marginal cost benefits and can improve on future cost trends. The proposed design methodology can incorporate other technologies to examine the cost savings opportunities in buildings.