Objectives and Targets

SUNSETS aims to facilitate high penetration of solar photovoltaics in distribution level and their integration in European distribution systems via suitable aggregation and ancillary service provision by photovoltaic-dominated NZEB-based energy communities. The project employs integrated solutions, while efficiently exploiting the opportunities provided by innovative technologies. SUNSETS core delivery is a novel energy management system that increases the building’s self-consumption and energy efficiency by exploiting the excess power generated by photovoltaics. This surplus is expected to increase significantly over the next decades, so it will be capped to demand level. A preliminary analysis shows that the surplus value is expected to exceed 330M€ at 80% penetration, as seen in Figure 1.

Part of the excess photovoltaic generation is diverted to thermal and battery storage, supply the energy demand of the building even when the sun is not available, through heat-to-electricity technology, while another part is permanently converted to heat covering the demand for hot water. SUNSETS management system operation is shown in Figure 2. An interoperable Internet of Things platform aggregates the NZEBs in an energy community, which is optimally controlled to provide ancillary services to the grid aiming to ensure the secure operation of the grid even under high variable renewable penetration, as presented in Figure 3.

The new thermal storage technologies include the smart residential electric boilers developed by UoP which will be coupled with the residual heat from heat-to-electricity conversion based on Azelio’s technology. Innovative solutions and technologies will be enabled by an interoperable cloud-based Internet of Things platform that connects digitally all NZEBs to the local energy community controller which coordinates the NZEBs to provide ancillary services (i.e., voltage support, harmonic compensation, congestion relief) to the grid.

At the local energy community level, advanced optimization algorithms will be developed for local energy community controller that will manage community’s energy, considering storage availability while aiming for the energy efficiency enhancement by using solar energy surplus. Based on advanced forecasting, the local energy community is self-adaptively clustered to efficiently use resources for different services. Simulations will evaluate the benefits of the developed solutions, while real-life demonstrations will confirm NZEB ability to provide ancillary services to the grid (Sweden), verify smart boiler operation (Greece) and demonstrate efficiency improvement by combining heat-to-electricity technology with smart boilers to exploit the heat losses in virtually connected demo-sites (Sweden and Greece).

Specific Objectives

1. Develop a building energy management system to increase solar energy self-consumption 

SUNSETS aims to develop a novel energy management system to control the solar energy surplus and optimally distribute it between electricity and heat storage. The developed management system will consider the solar energy availability, the forecasted generation and load of the building as well as the status of the storage devices to determine an optimal energy schedule for the building.

2. Increased photovoltaic penetration and integration in local grids by using photovoltaics as ancillary service

SUNSETS will develop tools increasing the photovoltaic hosting capacity of distribution grids by providing ancillary services to the grid ensuring its secure operation even under high photovoltaic penetration. The developed system will facilitate photovoltaic interaction with storage systems and other devices, while the interoperable platform will facilitate the photovoltaic integration in the local grids through the creation of photovoltaic-dominated communities.

3. Increased interoperability and efficiency

SUNSETS will increase the overall efficiency of the photovoltaic-dominated community through the reduction of the wasted solar energy by exploiting the advanced heat-to-electricity technology, by coupling the residual heat from heat-to-electricity conversion with the smart boilers. The interoperable Internet of Things platform will allow the bidirectional communication among NZEBs and their respective management systems, facilitating the optimization of the overall community energy profile.

4. Business models for market and commercial exploitation

SUNSETS will design easy-to-understand business models to exploit project’s results for the management of photovoltaic-dominated communities that will transparently return the net benefit of better operations to the involved stakeholders. The impact of the forecasted electricity prices on the effectiveness of the suggested system will be estimated, while techno-economic analysis of the large-scale introduction of smart boilers will be performed.

Expected Results (Indicative)

SUNSETS develops innovative solutions and thermal storage technologies for the energy management of NZEBs, the optimal operation of NZEBs-based communities and the provision of ancillary services to the distribution grid. Cutting-edge algorithms will be employed for the optimal scheduling and real-time dispatch of the integrated photovoltaic-based systems, aiming the improvement of the overall energy efficiency of the solar-based community and the increased network resilience through ancillary service provision.

Economic and environmental benefits

The increased photovoltaic penetration (at least 80%), derived by the employment of project’s solutions, will enhance the share of clean energy within the community, hence contributing to the reduction of Carbon Dioxide emissions. The increased overall efficiency, the enhanced self-consumption and the optimal community operation can lead to reduced peak power demand in the distribution systems, reducing the need for fossil-based peak power production and the need for power transmission in the network. Ancillary service provision will provide further economic benefits to the members of the community and the local system operators. Building owners and community members will have the opportunity to participate in local markets to sell their services to the local system operators, ensuring high financial reimbursement. The lower losses in the electrical network are expected to cause a decrease in the price of electrical energy, providing more financial benefits to the end-users.

Progress

SUNSETS is on tracks! The simulation of Smart Boilers' operation (D2.1) is completed successfully and the definition of ancillary services provided by SUNSETS (D3.1) is finalized. ​PV and load forecasting algorithms are also developed (D4.1). 

The publication of the optimization model for the management of energy-consumption in a photovoltaic system with energy storage, scheduling of controlled loads, with a view to maximum net profit and minimum energy costs has been completed by April 2022 (D7.1). Required test cases and demonstration sites have been planned in May 2022 (D6.5). By July 2022,  the assessment of hardware and control of smart Boilers has been completed (D2.2).

That is more than 29% of the project, since the project started in February 2021. The overall project is expected to require more than 91 Person Months for its completion.

Project Partners

University of Patras

The University of Patras, founded in 1964, is a nationwide and internationally renowned and acclaimed Higher Education Institution. Its state-of-the-art equipment, funded by the University's Public Investment Program, national and international research programs serving undergraduate and postgraduate education needs.

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University of Peloponnese

The University of the Peloponnese has its headquarters in Tripoli, Greece, and is developed as an Integrated School in the five capitals of the Peloponnese Prefectures. The University was inaugurated in 2002. The purpose of the establishment and operation of the University of the Peloponnese is to make a creative contribution to the development of higher education in the Greek region.

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Azelio

Azelio is a Swedish thermal energy storage company in the game of changing the future of renewable energy, founded in 2008. The headquarter is in Gothenburg and more than 100 people are employed. Azelio was born from the conviction that the future can be powered by solar energy. Determined to break down the last barrier they have worked to find an economically attractive and sustainable way of storing solar energy so that it can be tapped when and where it's needed.

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Chalmers University of Technology

Chalmers University of Technology (Chalmers) in Gothenburg conducts research and education in a wide range of disciplines in close collaboration with industry and society. Chalmers, one of Sweden's largest technological universities with about 10,600 students and some 2,200 employees, is involved in approximately 140 industrial and educational projects within the EU programs and has a long reputation as one of Sweden's best universities.

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Maltezos Solar Systems

Maltezos SA was founded in 1977 with main activity the iso production and trade of Solar Water Heaters that holds a leadership position in the production of Solar Water Heaters, Solar collectors and related accessories. The company evolved into a leader in the Renewable Energy sector due to its consistent and high-quality product range along with its customer-focused approach regarding after sales technical support and service.

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