Dimensionamiento óptimo de acumuladores térmicos mediante simulación de la demanda térmica durante invierno a través del entorno digital de OpenStudio para cada unidad de un bloque de apartamentos virtual contextualizado en Quebec

Abstract

Increasing energy demand, especially in winter periods, presents several challenges for home energy management and the rational use of energy. The quick development of the peak consumption period intensifies the risk of being exposed to unmeet hours in households. New strategies for load shifting are critical to mitigate the effect of the increasing electrical load from traditional heating systems and winter peak periods on the grid and the increasing electrical demand. To address such a challenge, this work presents a methodology for determining the optimal size and operation of electric thermal storage (ETS) in multi-zone residential apartment buildings through an optimization problem formulation. The economic implications of using ETS under the time-of-use (TOU) price signals and its impact on residential units are studied. A synthetic energy consumption dataset of a typical residential building in Quebec, Canada, from a virtual prototype created through OpenStudio Graphical user´s interface (GIU) and its network is utilized to evaluate the proposed method. Results demonstrate that the rational use of ETS, especially under dynamic electricity rates, enhances energy management, avoiding consumption peaks and keeping thermal comfort in each apartment.