Load sharing with a local thermal network fed by a microcogenerator: Thermo-economic optimization by means of dynamic simulations

The cogeneration is the combined production of electric and/or mechanical and thermal energy starting by a single energy source; in particular in this paper the analysis will be focused on a cogeneration system with electric power lower than 15 kW (micro-cogeneration). The paper analyzes a system consisting of a natural gas-fired micro-cogeneration unit (MCHP), a heat storage and a peak boiler. The system provides thermal and electric energy to two end-users, the former is a tertiary building (office), where the generation system is located, and the latter is a residential building connected to the former through a district heating micro-grid. In order to analyze the influence of climatic conditions, two different geographical locations in Italy (Benevento and Milano) are considered, that are also characterized by different natural gas and electricity tariffs. Particular attention is paid to the choice of the users, in order to obtain more stable and continuous electric and thermal loads (load sharing approach) and to increase the operating hours per year of the MCHP unit. The operation of the MCHP is governed by a control system, aimed to optimize a thermo-economic objective function. The models representing the components, the thermo-economic objective function and the buildings have been implemented in a widely used commercial software for building simulations. The models are calibrated and validated through data obtained from experimental tests carried out in the laboratory of the University of Sannio (Benevento). The results of the simulations highlight the potential benefits of the thermal load sharing approach. In particular, this study shows that an MCHP unit connected by means of a thermal micro-grid to different users in “load sharing mode” can obtain a high number of operating hours as well as significant energy (Primary Energy Saving) and environmental (avoided CO2 equivalent emissions) benefits with respect to an appropriate reference system, even in Mediterranean areas, where the climatic conditions are not always suitable for cogeneration.