Published: Oct. 14, 2020 By

Sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

The coordination of thermal-electrical-control networks is essential for the optimal design of grid-interactive efficient district (GED) energy systems, particularly when renewable energy sources are integrated. Led by Dr. Zuo, this $4.16M joint research is to create a holistic open-source modeling and optimization platform for the optimal design and retrofit of GED energy systems. Based on National Renewable Energy Laboratory's URBANopt and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Modelica Buildings library, this platform can be used to increase system efficiency and resilience of our communities.

AMO

Technical Advisory Group

Name Institution
Ben Ealey Electric Power Research Institute
Caitlin Holley ENGIE
Henry Johnstone GLHN
John Camilleri PSC
Peter Lilienthal HOMER Energy by UL
Shalom Flank Pareto Energy

 

Team Members:

University of Colorado Boulder: 

zWangda Zuo, Associate Professor, Ph.D. 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
wangda.zuo@colorado.edu

 

kyriKyri Baker, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
Kyri.Baker@colorado.edu

 

cubBryan Birosak, Director
Utility and Energy Services, University of Colorado Boulder
bryan.birosak@colorado.edu

 

cubEllen Edwards, Energy Manager
Utility and Energy Services, University of Colorado Boulder
ellen.edwards@colorado.edu

 

katyKaty Hinkelman, M.S., EIT 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
kathryn.hinkelman@colorado.edu

 

caryCary Faulkner 
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
cary.faulkner@colorado.edu

 

aislingAisling Pigott 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
Aisling.Pigott@colorado.edu

 

saranyaSaranya Anbarasu, M.S. 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
saranya.anbarasu@colorado.edu

 

mzMingzhe Liu, Ph.D. 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
mingzhe.liu@colorado.edu

 

chengnanChengnan Shi, M.S. 
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
chengnan.shi@colorado.edu

 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: 

LuigiLuigi Vanfretti, Associate Professor, Ph.D.
Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
luigi.vanfretti@gmail.com

 

TetianaTetiana Bogodorova, Research Scientist, Ph.D.
Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
tetiana.bogodorova@gmail.com

 

Fernando FachiniFernando Fachini 
Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
emaildofachini@gmail.com

 

University of Texas Austin:

atilaAtila Novoselac, Professor, Ph.D.
Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
atila@mail.utexas.edu

 

ardiArdeshir Moftakhari
Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
ardeshir.moftakhari@gmail.com

 

adirMengjia Tang
Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
m.tang@utexas.edu

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory:

wetterMichael Wetter, Staff Scientist, Ph.D.
Building Technology & Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
mwetter@lbl.gov

 

jian junJianjun Hu, Principal Scientific Engineering Associate, Ph.D.
Building Technology & Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
jianjunhu@lbl.gov

 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory:

kyleKyle Benne, Researcher, M.S.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Kyle.Benne@nrel.gov

 

nickNicholas Long, Senior Engineer, P.E., M.S.
Commercial Buildings Research Group, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
nicholas.long@nrel.gov

 

amyAmy Allen, Researcher, M.S.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Amy.Allen@nrel.gov

 

laurenLauren Klun, Project Manager
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Lauren.Klun@nrel.gov

 

Amzur technologies:

raymondRaymond Kaiser, Director of Energy Management Systems
Amzur Technologies
raymond.kaiser@amzur.com

 

Media Reports

Open source tool aims to improve electric grid efficiency, resiliency

 

Resulted Open Source Libraries

 

Journal Publications

K. Hinkelman, S. Anbarasu, M. Wetter, A. Gautier, W. Zuo. 2022. "A Fast and Accurate Modeling Approach for Water and Steam Thermodynamics with Practical Applications in District Heating System Simulation," Energy, 254(4), pp. 124227.

K. Hinkelman, J. Wang, W. Zuo, A. Gautier, M. Wetter, C. Fan, N. Long. 2022. "Modelica-Based Modeling and Simulation of District Cooling Systems: A Case Study." Applied Energy, 311, pp.118654.

Conference Proceedings

F. Fachini, M. d. Castro, M. Liu, T. Bogodorova, L. Vanfretti, W. Zuo. 2022. “Multi-Domain Power and Thermo-Fluid System Stability Modeling using OpenIPSL Library”, 2022 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), July 17-21, Denver, CO.

K. Hinkelman, S. Anbarasu, M. Wetter, A. Gautier, B. Ravache, W. Zuo 2022. "Towards Open-Source Modelica Models For Steam-Based District Heating Systems." Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop On Open Source Modelling And Simulation Of Energy Systems (OSMSES 2022), Aachen, German, April 4-5, 2022.

F. Fachini, L. Vanfretti, M. C. Fernandes, T. Bogodorova, G. Laera 2021. “Modeling and Validation of Renewable Energy Sources in the OpenIPSL Modelica Library.” Proceeding of the 47th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2021). October 13-16, Toronto, Canada.

A. Pigott, K. Baker, S. A. Dorado-Rojas, L. Vanfretti 2022. “Dymola-Enabled Reinforcement Learning for Real-time Generator Set-point Optimization.” Proceeding of the 13th Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT 2022). February 21-24, Washington, D.C., USA.