Experimental facilities for assessing energy flexibility in buildings

Public seminar Annex 67 - Energy Flexible Buildings Annex 67 4th April 2019, Aalborg University

Jaume Salom

Motivation

• Development of Energy Flexibilitystrategies (usually developed bysimulation) need to be validated underdynamic working conditions

• Laboratories for Energy Flexibility offersto researchers and industry thepossibility to test the performance ofproposed systems in controlledenvironments prior to theirimplementation in real buildingsand/or field tests.

Semi-virtual method: Operation of real equipment according to the behaviour of a building/system computer model to emulate dynamic woking conditions in Hardware-in-the-loop

Test facilities concept

Virtual system-modelEnergy loadingsUser behaviourBuilding occupancy and useWeather conditionsThermal/electrical components

Real system-laboratoryHVAC equipmentRenewable energy systemsHeat Pumps, Microturbines, Fuel cellsEnergy management systemsBatteries

Heat pump

Hydraulic system for DHW

Photovoltaic cell

Test facilities concept (2)

The NZEB emulator lab at Aalto University

Spain

Switzerland

Denmark

Canada

Norway

Finland

Overview of test facilities

Experiment at FHNW. The Energy Research lab

• ObjectiveTo test the ability of an energy management system (EMS) tomaximize self-consumption by aligning DHW generation withsurplus PV generation.