Solar Energy and Energy Storage in Low Energy Renovation Paves the Way for Urban Energy Island Communities
Abstract
The objective of the research work is to define a replicable demonstration case towards 100% renewable energy in the built environment, by renovating 40 existing apartments from the 1960s in The Netherlands. Side-effect of the approach is to avoid the reinforcement of the electricity grid, whilst achieving conversion from natural gas towards electricity within the margins of the existing residential electricity grid. High grade insulation, triple glazing and heat recovery ventilation result in a net heat demand below 25 kWh/m2. Maximum application of rooftop PV, application of smart controls, heat pump technology and energy storage increases self-consumption and autarky figures. Technically, the project will demonstrate communal salt batteries for short term storage and innovative hydrogen in metal-hydrides for long term storage. For tenants the concept results in low predictable energy costs. The costs for purchasing energy shifts towards capital costs or depreciation and maintenance costs. The high fraction of direct and indirect used solar generation means that only a small portion of the energy has a CO 2 -emission factor associated with purchased electricity. The concept serves as an example for application at the scale of transformer stations for 500 – 1,000 apartments in an urban community.
Keywords
Solar Energy, Built Environment, Salt battery, Hydrogen in Metal-hydrid Seasonal Storage, Net congestion, Self sufficiency