Preliminary Study on Optimization of a Geothermal Heating System Coupled with Energy Storage for Office Building Heating in North China

Yapeng Ren; Xinli Lu; Wei Zhang; Jiaqi Zhang; Jiali Liu; Feng Ma; Zhiwei Cui; Hao Yu; Tianji Zhu; Yalin Zhang

doi:10.3390/en15238947

Energies (Nov 2022)

Preliminary Study on Optimization of a Geothermal Heating System Coupled with Energy Storage for Office Building Heating in North China

Yapeng Ren,
Xinli Lu,
Wei Zhang,
Jiaqi Zhang,
Jiali Liu,
Feng Ma,
Zhiwei Cui,
Hao Yu,
Tianji Zhu,
Yalin Zhang

Affiliations

Yapeng Ren: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Xinli Lu: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Wei Zhang: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Jiaqi Zhang: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Jiali Liu: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Feng Ma: Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
Zhiwei Cui: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Hao Yu: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Tianji Zhu: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Yalin Zhang: Tianjin Geothermal Research and Training Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en15238947
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 23
p. 8947

Abstract

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Geothermal heating is considered to be one of the low-carbon-energy technologies for building heating. Aiming at the problem that the operating cost and investment cost of geothermal heating systems are still high, the conventional geothermal heating system coupled with energy storage for office building heating is studied in this paper. Four operational strategy models of the coupled system are established based on time-of-use electricity prices. A genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal value of each decision variable using minimization of levelized cost of heat (LCOH) as the objective function. The influences of electricity and equipment prices on the optimal values of the decision variables are discussed. Four operation strategies are investigated. If only operating cost is considered in the optimization, comparison shows that the best operation strategy is the one giving high priority to use the energy storage tank for heating during the peak electricity period. However, if the investment cost is further considered in the optimization, the best operation strategy is the one using the energy storage tank for heat load peak-regulating. In addition, based on the minimization of LCOH, an optimal energy storage ratio is found for each scenario, and suitable conditions of using energy storage tank are discussed. The geothermal heating system coupled with energy storage can have a good performance when the peak-valley electricity price difference is higher than CNY 0.566/kW·h (USD 0.0847/kW·h)+ or the energy storage tank price is lower than CNY 900/m3 (USD 134.64/m3). The results obtained from this study prove that the cost of geothermal heating systems can be effectively reduced by choosing an optimal operation strategy and using an energy storage device with an optimal energy storage ratio.

Published in Energies

ISSN: 1996-1073 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

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