Principles of Transformation in an Integrated Energy System when Applying the Concept of an Energy Hub

Abstract

The cost of electricity and heat for the population, enterprises and organizations in Russia has increased several times in recent years. An urgent issue for consumers was the search for opportunities to save money when paying for energy. The heating fee is about a quarter of the total amount of the utility bill. The tariff, the cost of one unit of energy (Gcal/m2) spent on heating a room, increases annually. Accordingly, the amount of expenses for public services in each individual family or organization also increases. The principles of transformation of various forms of energy in an integrated energy system based on the concept of an energy hub are considered. It is proposed to use the capabilities of the MATLAB/Simulink software. The MATLAB/Simulink software library does not contain complex elements with a structure with multiple inputs and multiple outputs. Complex models of energy hub blocks form a special additional library. These models implement such functions as energy storage, energy conversion and summation of various types of energy. There are two types of energy transformation elements presented in the article. An illustrative example is presented that shows the economic effect of converting electricity into heat energy at preferential tariffs during the night period. The calculation of the quantitative potential of electricity for conversion is performed. Studies have shown that a flexible combination of various energy carriers using conversion and storage technologies preserves the potential for various system improvements: the total cost of energy can be reduced, the reliability of the power system is increased, network overload can be reduced, transmission losses are reduced.