Impacts of Load Profiles on the Optimization of Power Management of a Green Building Employing Fuel Cells

Abstract

This paper discusses the performance improvement of a green building by optimization procedures and the influences of load characteristics on optimization. The green building is equipped with a self-sustained hybrid power system consisting of solar cells, wind turbines, batteries, proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), electrolyzer, and power electronic devices. We develop a simulation model using the Matlab/SimPowerSystemTM and tune the model parameters based on experimental responses, so that we can predict and analyze system responses without conducting extensive experiments. Three performance indexes are then defined to optimize the design of the hybrid system for three typical load profiles: the household, the laboratory, and the office loads. The results indicate that the total system cost was reduced by 38.9%, 40% and 28.6% for the household, laboratory and office loads, respectively, while the system reliability was improved by 4.89%, 24.42% and 5.08%. That is, the component sizes and power management strategies could greatly improve system cost and reliability, while the performance improvement can be greatly influenced by the characteristics of the load profiles. A safety index is applied to evaluate the sustainability of the hybrid power system under extreme weather conditions. We further discuss two methods for improving the system safety: the use of sub-optimal settings or the additional chemical hydride. Adding 20 kg of NaBH4 can provide 63 kWh and increase system safety by 3.33, 2.10, and 2.90 days for the household, laboratory and office loads, respectively. In future, the proposed method can be applied to explore the potential benefits when constructing customized hybrid power systems.

A Simple and Safe Strategy for Improving the Fuel Economy of a Fuel Cell Vehicle

“…The load-following management was studied to handle the load dynamics [21,22] and then extended to an unknown load profile [23]. Impacts of load profiles on the PEMFC system efficiency, but also on safe functioning of the PEMFC power source, are analyzed in [24,25].…”

Design and Implementation of High Order Sliding Mode Control for PEMFC Power System

“…These have been identified in terms of cost, reducing environmental pollution and lack of energy sources. Hence, scientists and researchers are aspiring to balance these three directions in order to obtain the best solution and optimal results [1]. Fuel cells are an ideal solution that can be used in many engineering fields, including transportation [2][3][4][5], aircraft [6,7] and distributed generation [8][9][10], as well as stationary and mobile applications [11][12][13][14].…”

Improved Hydrogen-Production-Based Power Management Control of a Wind Turbine Conversion System Coupled with Multistack Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

“…It has to considered that the gas storage volume is almost 1000 times larger than the electricity storage volume in analyzed countries [2], and that the annual demand for hydrogen is expected to increase ten-fold by 2050-from 8 exajoule (EJ) in 2015 to almost 80 EJ in 2050 [3]. Hydrogen is crucial in power-to-X applications, such as electricity conversion, energy storage, and reconversion pathways that exploit surplus electric power, mainly during periods where fluctuating renewable energy generation exceeds load [4][5][6][7][8].…”