Speaker
Description
Rising electricity price volatility, increasing grid vulnerability, and the need for secure, affordable, and low-carbon energy supply have renewed interest in building-scale microgrids. This study presents an integrated techno-economic case study for evaluating residential microgrid pathways combining photovoltaic generation, battery storage, micro gas turbines, heat recovery, alternative thermal supply technologies, grid interaction, and electricity trading. The framework links hourly dispatch modelling with scenario-level discounted cash-flow analysis, connecting operational performance with long-term investment metrics. The methodology is applied to a Norwegian commercial/residential case. PV and battery operation are first assessed to quantify renewable contribution and storage support, followed by micro gas turbine dispatch to supply residual demand and provide recoverable heat where applicable. Alternative thermal pathways are evaluated, including electric heating, natural gas and biogas boilers, and ground-source heat pumps supplied by either the grid or microgrid. Eight scenarios are compared against grid-only references with and without electricity price support. The assessment includes operating cost, capital investment, replacement events, salvage value, electricity trading revenue, net annual benefit, net present value, payback period, discounted payback period, return on investment, and internal rate of return. Results show that performance is highly sensitive to heat-supply technology, electricity price exposure, microgrid self-supply, and policy support. Grid-only supply without subsidy yields the highest cost, while microgrid configurations with heat pumps perform best under price support conditions. The framework provides a transparent and adaptable tool for comparing residential energy pathways under uncertain market and policy conditions.
| Topic Area | Smart Energy Storage, Integration and Utilization |
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