A Model for Simulating the Thermal and Electrical Production of Small-Scale Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell Cogeneration Systems within Building Simulation Programs

Abstract

A new model for predicting the thermal and electrical performance of solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cogeneration devices for residential buildings has been developed and demonstrated. This is a system-level model that considers the thermodynamic performance of all components that consume energy and produce the thermal and electrical output of the SOFC-cogeneration device. The model relies heavily upon empirical information that can be acquired from the testing of coherent systems or components and is designed for operation at a time resolution that is in the order of minutes. Hence, it is appropriate for use in whole-building simulation programs,where it can be applied to assess the energy and greenhouse gas emission benefits of this nascent technology.

Modelling and Performance Evaluation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Building Integrated Co‐ and Polygeneration

“…Typically, SOFC models integrated into such tools do not consider the details of the SOFC system. In the IEA Annex 42 fuel cell models [17][18][19], the whole fuel cell power module is considered as one CV and the characteristics of this module have to be determined using either empirical data or data derived from a more detailed cell and stack fuel cell model. Therefore the stack model presented was complemented to a system model, comprising BoP components and heat exchan-gers, with the aim to provide a tool to generate the performance characteristic curves for such models.…”

“…To generate the performance characteristic curves for the IEA Annex 42 fuel cell models [17,18] the following procedure may be applied:…”

“…Cogeneration models presently used are formulated on system level, based on quasi-steadystate performance characteristics and with simple approximations for the transient behaviour. A typical model of this type is the fuel cell cogeneration system model developed within Annex 42 of the International Energy Agency's Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme (IEA/ECBCS) [17,18], which uses a pragmatic 'grey box' approach, where the model structure partially reflects underlying physical processes and partially relies on empirical relations. In this paper, we refer to this model as the IEA Annex 42 fuel cell model.…”

Estimating the environmental burdens of residential energy supply systems through material input and emission factors

“…A ''general'' micro-cogeneration plant consists of (i) fuel processing unit, (ii) power module unit, (iii) powerconditioning unit, (iv) ancillaries, (v) heat recovery unit and (vi) an auxiliary burner [14,15]. The core of the plant is the power module unit, which converts the chemical energy of fuel into electricity and hot exhaust gas that releases its thermal contents (enthalpy) in the heat recovery unit to a water circulation.…”

The empirical validation of a model for simulating the thermal and electrical performance of fuel cell micro-cogeneration devices

“…This international collaborative project developed, validated, and implemented models of micro-cogeneration devices for whole-building simulation programs. The IEA/ECBCS Annex 42 mathematical model for simulating the performance of fuel cell micro-cogeneration systems [17,18] is a system-level quasi-steady-state model that considers the thermodynamic performance of all components that consume energy and produce thermal and electrical output. The model relies heavily upon empirical information that can be acquired from the testing of coherent systems or components and is designed for operation at a time resolution in the order of minutes.…”