Energy efficiency is crucial for the green transition in buildings. Different parameters must be considered to ensure a sustainable transition, both from an economic and environmental point of view. Based on the considered buildings, climatic data, and national and international geopolitical conditions, the choice of the renewable technology configuration capable of minimizing costs and/or emissions is full of variables.
An in-depth analysis of a real-world case study is presented here. The case study analyzed concerns in three interconnected buildings in a port area: a cruise terminal, a hotel and a shopping center. By defining the load curves of the buildings (heating, cooling, and electrical) it was possible to carry out a series of simulations to evaluate the most advantageous technologies based on the specific characteristics of the buildings.
The selected district represents a peculiar case: the different destinations of use made it interesting to understand how these facilities can “communicate” energetically with each other given the different energy demands.
Using DER-CAM software, the district energy design has been optimized to ensure the best economic and environmental performance. Thanks to this simulation-based approach, the decisional process is accelerated, and it increases the resilience of the analyzed district, with the possibility to reduce the dependency of energy cost on external factors such as climatic and energy market changes. A complex district can be analyzed in a “global” way by carrying out numerous simulations in a short time, offering the possibility of evaluating solutions that normally might not be considered for reasons of time and budget (i.e., seawater heat pump).
The most relevant results of the case study will be reported in detail with the support of graphs and numerical values. A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the robustness of the solutions, also confirmed thanks to the presence of thermal and electrical storage that contributes to the energy independence of the district. Furthermore, indications on building management system are provided in terms of energy flows.
The simulations also take into consideration the impact of the proposed interventions on the existing urban infrastructure, evaluating the amount of energy exchanged with the local grid, and considering the possibility of a reduction in peak load of the grid thanks to the presence of distributed renewable energy resources and storage.
Once the district’s “digital twin” is developed, it will be easier to converge on the best solutions considering new emerging boundary conditions (e.g., modifications of the district, climate conditions, and energy prices).
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, F.T. and D.R.; methodology, D.R. and P.F.; software, M.M. and P.F.; validation, M.M.; formal analysis, M.M.; investigation, M.M.; resources, P.F.; data curation, M.M.; writing—original draft preparation, M.M.; writing—review and editing, M.M. and D.R.; visualization, M.M. and D.R.; supervision, F.T.; project administration, F.T.; funding acquisition, F.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author due to privacy restrictions.
Conflicts of Interest
Author Mauro Mini, Diego Rattazzi, Paolo Finocchi and Fabrizio Tavaroli were employed by the company RINA Consulting S.p.A. All authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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