This study proposes operational strategies for combinations of equipment, including an electric vehicle (EV), in a house using self-consumption.The aim of this is to attain both comfort and efficient energy management under several household and regional conditions, focusing on the frequency of the EV's use as well as the residents' schedules. As operational strategies for self-consumption of surplus power, storage battery (BT) charging, EV charging and daytime operation of heat pump water heater (EC) were assumed. Moreover, the amount of self-consumption, CO2 emissions, and the cost-effectiveness of different equipment combinations were calculated and compared.

The housing section in Japan is promoting the introduction of renewable energy. However, it has problems such as surplus generation during a low load period and there could be a rise in voltage due to reversed power flow. Therefore, there is a need to use the generated surplus energy effectively. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the precooling and preheating operation.To this end, we measured indoor environmental factors, energy consumption, and skin surface temperature and heat loss using a thermal manikin under ten conditions with different air conditioning in house with higher heat capacity.

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Considering the effects of electricity shortages caused by natural disasters in Japan, residential energy efficiency is essential. In addition, excessive housing stocks in Japan have highlighted the importance of expertise in renovation methods for zero-energy houses (ZEHs). Therefore, we designed and built a ZEH as a refurbishment of steel-structure industrialized housing to acquire knowledge on ZEH design and renovation. The renovation uses a highly insulated volume against a low insulation volume, which is assumed to be an existing house. The space between the low-insulation wall facing the outside and the high-insulation wall surrounding the main living space functions as a sunroom and called a loggia. By opening and closing the inside and outside windows according to the season and time of day, the loggia functions as a passive system to reduce the air-conditioning load. In this paper, the outline of the building plan of the experimental house and the evaluation of the thermal environment are presented.

Because of the increasing promotion of renewable energy such as photovoltaic (PV) panels in Japanese houses, the voltage increase and frequency adjustment of a city electrical distribution network sys-tem will be of concern. Therefore, self-consuming surplus electricity and leveling the reverse power flow is important in terms of reducing the smart grid network load and reducing the peak load of the smart grid network. The aim of this study was to acquire knowledge regarding methods of self-consuming surplus power as well as leveling the reverse power flow. An equipment operation method, termed “schedule control,” was proposed that changes the operational time of a heat pump water heater and the charging time of a storage battery according to solar radiation prediction. Because PV power fluctuates depending on weather and time zone, this method helps in self-consuming as much PV power generation as possible. By actual measurement and simulation results, it was confirmed that the schedule control of the heat pump water heater and storage battery was useful in self-consuming surplus power and leveling reverse power flow.