Emerging Technologies for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings and Communities

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closed (20 September 2023)

Manuscript submission deadline

closed (20 November 2023)

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Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing share of renewable electricity generation and growing peak energy demand have posed continuing challenges to the reliable and stable operation of energy grids. Buildings, as one of the major end-users of electricity, are also widely considered the key to energy savings and grid modernization.

Incorporated with an array of emerging technologies, such as efficient HVAC systems, on-site power generation, and electrical storage, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) can schedule the various energy use activities of its occupants to avoid high peak load, thus eliminating disruptions stemming from grid stress issues and enhancing the building’s resilience to extreme weather conditions. Several pilot field studies by the U.S. Department of Energy have demonstrated that connected communities of GEBs have the potential to consume 40% less electricity than today’s average all-electric home. In addition, with buildings' operational energy accounting for 27% of energy-related CO2 emissions in 2020, GEBs are also recognized as the frontier for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment. Therefore, the Federal Smart Buildings Accelerator program set a goal of transitioning to zero-emission fleets throughout U.S. Government Agencies leveraging smart building and grid-responsive technologies.

This Topic seeks to highlight the state-of-the-art research on GEB systems and emerging technologies associated with its applications for energy efficiency and decarbonization in buildings and communities. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Emerging technologies for flexible loads and decarbonization;
• Energy storage and distributed energy resources;
• Novel sensors and advanced controls to co-optimize efficiency, occupant needs, and flexibility;
• Building and district energy modeling for GEBs and communities;
• Grid-integrated HVAC equipment, water heating, and appliances;
• Smart building envelope and windows for flexible loads;
• Energy-efficient electrification of building energy needs;
• Adaptive cyber defense and resilient systems;
• Validation and verification of building performance for grid services and building energy systems;
• Life cycle assessment of energy, cost, and GHG emissions of GEBs and communities.

Dr. Zhihong Pang
Dr. Xing Lu
Dr. Huilong Wang
Dr. Xu Han
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Buildings buildings	3.1	3.4	2011	15.3 Days	CHF 2600
Energies energies	3.0	6.2	2008	16.8 Days	CHF 2600
Smart Cities smartcities	7.0	11.2	2018	28.4 Days	CHF 2000
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	6.8	2009	19.7 Days	CHF 2400
Applied Sciences applsci	2.5	5.3	2011	18.4 Days	CHF 2400
Technologies technologies	4.2	6.7	2013	21.1 Days	CHF 1600

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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All Buildings Energies Smart Cities Sustainability Applied Sciences Technologies

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13 pages, 1621 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Perceptions of Solar Photovoltaic System Adopters in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of Adopters in Ntchisi, Malawi

by Tiyamike Ngonda, Richard Nkhoma and Virginia Ngonda

Energies 2023, 16(21), 7350; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16217350 - 31 Oct 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1756

Abstract

The study reported in this article aimed to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms driving the adoption and usage of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in rural Malawian households, particularly among communities that have not received prior solar energy interventions. It used a qualitative [...] Read more.

The study reported in this article aimed to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms driving the adoption and usage of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in rural Malawian households, particularly among communities that have not received prior solar energy interventions. It used a qualitative approach to investigate the experiences of solar PV system adopters in Ntchisi, Malawi. The study included fourteen participants, and data were collected through observations and interviews, which were then analysed using thematic analysis procedures. The study’s findings indicate that many individuals in rural areas have installed solar PV systems that lack adequate training, resulting in potentially hazardous installations. The installation of solar PV systems in villages is motivated by several factors, including the lack of electricity, convenience, benefits, and personal interest in learning more about solar systems. The participants have highlighted numerous benefits of using solar energy, such as reduced costs, increased convenience, improved productivity, reliable energy access, and telecommunication services. However, solar PV systems are primarily limited to household lighting, phone charging, and powering televisions and radios; however, not for cooking purposes. The findings imply that governments in sub-Saharan Africa should provide training and guidance on the safe and effective use of solar PV systems, invest more in solar PV infrastructure to enable larger solar systems for cooking, refrigeration, and irrigation, and promote the use of solar energy through education and awareness campaigns to encourage greater adoption of solar energy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Emerging Technologies for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings and Communities)

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26 pages, 7475 KiB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A Deep Reinforcement Learning Method for Economic Power Dispatch of Microgrid in OPAL-RT Environment

by Faa-Jeng Lin, Chao-Fu Chang, Yu-Cheng Huang and Tzu-Ming Su

Technologies 2023, 11(4), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies11040096 - 12 Jul 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3426

Abstract

This paper focuses on the economic power dispatch (EPD) operation of a microgrid in an OPAL-RT environment. First, a long short-term memory (LSTM) network is proposed to forecast the load information of a microgrid to determine the output of a power generator and [...] Read more.

This paper focuses on the economic power dispatch (EPD) operation of a microgrid in an OPAL-RT environment. First, a long short-term memory (LSTM) network is proposed to forecast the load information of a microgrid to determine the output of a power generator and the charging/discharging control strategy of a battery energy storage system (BESS). Then, a deep reinforcement learning method, the deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG), is utilized to develop the power dispatch of a microgrid to minimize the total energy expense while considering power constraints, load uncertainties and electricity price. Moreover, a microgrid built in Cimei Island of Penghu Archipelago, Taiwan, is investigated to examine the compliance with the requirements of equality and inequality constraints and the performance of the deep reinforcement learning method. Furthermore, a comparison of the proposed method with the experience-based energy management system (EMS), Newton particle swarm optimization (Newton-PSO) and the deep Q-learning network (DQN) is provided to evaluate the obtained solutions. In this study, the average deviation of the LSTM forecast accuracy is less than 5%. In addition, the daily operating cost of the proposed method obtains a 3.8% to 7.4% lower electricity cost compared to that of the other methods. Finally, a detailed emulation in the OPAL-RT environment is carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Emerging Technologies for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings and Communities)

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24 pages, 7842 KiB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Field Performance Monitoring of Energy-Generating High-Transparency Agrivoltaic Glass Windows

by Mikhail Vasiliev, Victor Rosenberg, Jamie Lyford and David Goodfield

Technologies 2023, 11(4), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies11040095 - 12 Jul 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4389

Abstract

Currently, there are strong and sustained growth trends observed in multi-disciplinary industrial technologies such as building-integrated photovoltaics and agrivoltaics, where renewable energy production is featured in building envelopes of varying degrees of transparency. Novel glass products can provide a combination of thermal energy [...] Read more.

Currently, there are strong and sustained growth trends observed in multi-disciplinary industrial technologies such as building-integrated photovoltaics and agrivoltaics, where renewable energy production is featured in building envelopes of varying degrees of transparency. Novel glass products can provide a combination of thermal energy savings and solar energy harvesting, enabled by either patterned-semiconductor thin-film energy converters on glass substrates, or by using luminescent concentrator-type approaches to achieve high transparency. Significant progress has been demonstrated recently in building integrated solar windows featuring visible light transmission of up to 70%, with electric power outputs of up to P_max ~ 30–33 W_p/m². Several slightly different designs were tested during 2021–2023 in a greenhouse installation at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia; their long-term energy harvesting performance differences were found to be on the scale of ~10% in wall-mounted locations. Solar greenhouse generated electricity at rates of up to 19 kWh/day, offsetting nearly 40% of energy costs. The objective of this paper is to report on the field performance of these PV windows in the context of agrivoltaics and to provide some detail of the performance differences measured in several solar window designs related to their glazing structure materials. Methods for the identification and quantification of long-term field performance differences and energy generation trends in solar windows of marginally different design types are reported. The paper also aims to outline the practical application potential of these transparent construction materials in built environments, focusing on the measured renewable energy figures and seasonal trends observed during the long-term study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Emerging Technologies for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings and Communities)

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11 pages, 4140 KiB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceCommunication

HAIS: Highways Automated-Inspection System

by Hossam A. Gabbar, Abderrazak Chahid, Manir U. Isham, Shashwat Grover, Karan Pal Singh, Khalid Elgazzar, Ahmad Mousa and Hossameldin Ouda

Technologies 2023, 11(2), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies11020051 - 1 Apr 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3481

Abstract

A smart city is a trending concept describing a new generation of cities operated intelligently with minimal human intervention. It promotes energy sustainability, minimal environmental impact, and better governance. In transportation, the remote highway infrastructure monitoring will enhance the driver’s safety, continuously report [...] Read more.

A smart city is a trending concept describing a new generation of cities operated intelligently with minimal human intervention. It promotes energy sustainability, minimal environmental impact, and better governance. In transportation, the remote highway infrastructure monitoring will enhance the driver’s safety, continuously report road conditions, and identify potential hazardous incidents such as accidents, floods, or snow storms. In addition, it facilitates the integration of future cuttingedge technologies such as self-driving vehicles. This paper presents a general introduction to a smart monitoring system for automated real-time road condition inspection. The proposed solution includes hardware devices/nodes and software applications for data processing, road condition inspection using hybrid algorithms based on digital signal processing, and artificial intelligence technologies. The proposed system has an interactive web interface for real-time data sharing, infrastructure monitoring, visualization, and management of inspection reports which can improve the maintenance process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Emerging Technologies for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings and Communities)

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34 pages, 11931 KiB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Open-Source Photovoltaic—Electrical Vehicle Carport Designs

by Nicholas Vandewetering, Koami Soulemane Hayibo and Joshua M. Pearce

Technologies 2022, 10(6), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies10060114 - 7 Nov 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 8051

Abstract

Solar powering the increasing fleet of electrical vehicles (EV) demands more surface area than may be available for photovoltaic (PV)-powered buildings. Parking lot solar canopies can provide the needed area to charge EVs but are substantially costlier than roof- or ground-mounted PV systems. [...] Read more.

Solar powering the increasing fleet of electrical vehicles (EV) demands more surface area than may be available for photovoltaic (PV)-powered buildings. Parking lot solar canopies can provide the needed area to charge EVs but are substantially costlier than roof- or ground-mounted PV systems. To provide a low-cost PV parking lot canopy to supply EV charging, in this study, we provide a full mechanical and economic analysis of three novel PV canopy systems: (1) an exclusively wood, single-parking-spot spanning system, (2) a wood and aluminum double-parking-spot spanning system, and (3) a wood and aluminum cantilevered system for curbside parking. All three systems can be scaled to any amount of EV parking spots. The complete designs and bill of materials (BOM) of the canopies are provided, along with basic instructions, and are released with an open-source license that will enable anyone to fabricate them. Analysis results indicate that single-span systems provide cost savings of 82–85%, double-span systems save 43–50%, and cantilevered systems save 31–40%. In the first year of operation, PV canopies can provide 157% of the energy needed to charge the least efficient EV currently on the market if it is driven the average driving distance in London, ON, Canada. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Emerging Technologies for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings and Communities)

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