Optimal Co-Design of Integrated Thermal-Electrical Networks and Control Systems for Grid-interactive Efficient District (GED) Energy Systems

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.

Technical Advisory Group

Team Members:

University of Colorado Boulder: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: 

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

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

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

University of Texas Austin:

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

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

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

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory:

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

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

National Renewable Energy Laboratory:

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

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

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

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

Amzur technologies:

Raymond 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

• OpenIPSL
• Modelica Buildings Library
• URBANopt

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.