Evaluating energy and flexibility performance of building clusters

Abstract

This work proposes a cluster modelling approach in Modelica language and a methodology to evaluate the energy and flexibility performance of building clusters during the heating period. Energy flexibility is defined as the building capability to shift energy according to an external forcing factor that, in this study, is the production of a PV plant. Accordingly, a Flexibility Index (FI) is designed to quantify the reduction of the energy demand not covered by renewables comparing reference and smart operation. The focus on cluster domain enables to exploit the synergies among buildings, renewables and energy infrastructure, while keeping the envelope and HVAC system technological details. First, a cluster-tailored modelling strategy is presented; then, the methodology to calculate energy flexibility is described and applied to different scenarios, performing a variation of the building thermal mass.