Improving an Integer Linear Programming Model of an Ecovat Buffer by Adding Long-Term Planning

Abstract

Abstract:The Ecovat is a seasonal thermal storage solution consisting of a large underground water tank divided into a number of virtual segments that can be individually charged and discharged. The goal of the Ecovat is to supply heat demand to a neighborhood throughout the entire year. In this work, we extend an integer linear programming model to describe the charging and discharging of such an Ecovat buffer by adding a long-term (yearly) planning step to the model. We compare the results from the model using this extension to previously obtained results and show significant improvements when looking at the combination of costs and the energy content of the buffer at the end of the optimization. Furthermore, we show that the model is very robust against prediction errors. For this, we compare two different cases: one case in which we assume perfect predictions are available and one case in which we assume no predictions are available. The largest observed difference in costs between these two cases is less than 2%.

Techno‐economic planning of local energy systems through optimization models: a survey of current methods

“…They include them by utilizing a simplified representation for long‐term operation decisions while keeping a detailed model for upcoming decisions. In Reference 141*, authors use a long‐term model that provides storage level objectives to a short‐term model (unidirectional link). The long term‐model used a coarse temporal representation while the short‐term optimize decisions at the hourly level.…”

Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage: The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat

“…For data on the technological and organizational development, we held interviews with technical sales manager of ECOVAT, marketing director of DrTen and initiators of both initiatives. We also collected and studied academic publications and other documents: two journal publications [91,92], three conference papers [22,93,94], several expert reports, two patents [95,96], several presentations, two master-theses [97,98] and one PhD thesis [99] related to ECOVAT and, for Dr.Ten batteries, three journal publications [5,100,101], three conference papers [22,102,103], several presentations and one PhD thesis [104].…”