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Techno-economic analysis of DC power distribution in commercial buildings

Author

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  • Vossos, Vagelis
  • Gerber, Daniel
  • Bennani, Youness
  • Brown, Richard
  • Marnay, Chris

Abstract

Improvements in building end-use efficiency have significantly reduced the energy intensity of new buildings, but diminishing returns make it a challenge to build very-low energy buildings cost-effectively. A largely untapped efficiency strategy is to improve the efficiency of power distribution within buildings. Direct current (DC) distribution with modern power electronics has the potential to eliminate much of the power conversion loss in alternating current (AC) building distribution networks that include photovoltaics and DC end uses. Previous literature suggests up to 15% energy savings from DC power distribution in very energy efficient buildings with onsite generation and battery storage. This paper extends prior energy modeling of DC versus AC distribution in buildings, to consider the cost of implementing DC systems on a life-cycle basis.

Suggested Citation

  • Vossos, Vagelis & Gerber, Daniel & Bennani, Youness & Brown, Richard & Marnay, Chris, 2018. "Techno-economic analysis of DC power distribution in commercial buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 663-678.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:230:y:2018:i:c:p:663-678
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.08.069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Gerber, Daniel L. & Liou, Richard & Brown, Richard, 2019. "Energy-saving opportunities of direct-DC loads in buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 274-287.
    4. Castillo-Calzadilla, T. & Cuesta, M.A. & Olivares-Rodriguez, C. & Macarulla, A.M. & Legarda, J. & Borges, C.E., 2022. "Is it feasible a massive deployment of low voltage direct current microgrids renewable-based? A technical and social sight," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    5. Moazzam Nazir & Omkar Ghatpande & Willy Bernal Heredia & Cameron Wierzbanowski & Daniel Gerber & Avijit Saha, 2021. "Standardizing Performance Metrics for Building-Level Electrical Distribution Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Xiang, Yue & Cai, Hanhu & Liu, Junyong & Zhang, Xin, 2021. "Techno-economic design of energy systems for airport electrification: A hydrogen-solar-storage integrated microgrid solution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    7. Eskander, Monica M. & Silva, Carlos A., 2023. "Techno-economic and environmental comparative analysis for DC microgrids in households: Portuguese and French household case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    8. Patrik Ollas & Torbjörn Thiringer & Mattias Persson & Caroline Markusson, 2023. "Energy Loss Savings Using Direct Current Distribution in a Residential Building with Solar Photovoltaic and Battery Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-21, January.
    9. Patrik Ollas & Torbjörn Thiringer & Mattias Persson, 2024. "Enhanced DC Building Distribution Performance Using a Modular Grid-Tied Converter Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Hegazy Rezk & Rania M. Ghoniem & Seydali Ferahtia & Ahmed Fathy & Mohamed M. Ghoniem & Reem Alkanhel, 2022. "A Comparison of Different Renewable-Based DC Microgrid Energy Management Strategies for Commercial Buildings Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Spiliotis, Konstantinos & Gonçalves, Juliana E. & Saelens, Dirk & Baert, Kris & Driesen, Johan, 2020. "Electrical system architectures for building-integrated photovoltaics: A comparative analysis using a modelling framework in Modelica," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
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    13. Meshari Alshammari & Maeve Duffy, 2021. "Feasibility Analysis of a DC Distribution System for a 6 kW Photovoltaic Installation in Ireland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, October.

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