Type: Master's Assignment
Programme: Embedded Systems, Computer Science
Contact: Gerwin Hoogsteen
Abstract
We’re in the middle of the Energy Transition towards a sustainable energy supply system as a result of the Paris climate agreement. In the Netherlands, the transition is currently accelerated by the plans to rapidly phase out natural gas usage due to the earthquakes that drilling causes in the province of Groningen. Natural gas is currently dominantly used for space heating, especially in older houses that require high temperature heating due to the bad insulation standards applied in the past. For these households, using an electric powered heat pump (preferably running on clean electricity) is not an option as it will simply result in low uncomfortable indoor temperatures.
A solution to this problem is the hybrid heat pump. It combines an electric heat pump with an “old fashioned” gas boiler. During the mild days in autumn and spring, the electric heat pump can be used to heat the house to a comfortable temperature. Only during real cold days, the gas fired boiler can kick in to keep the temperature at comfortable levels. This results in a practical solution to the energy transition in cases where district heating or installing better insulation is an impractical solution.
On the other hand, the system can also use the gas boiler to reduce the load on the electricity grid during congestion (a nearly overloaded part in the grid). This method is tested by TNO. Another way to overcome this is for instance by applying smart preheating of the room or a buffer to avoid peaks on the electricity grid. Algorithms needed do so are developed at the University of Twente. Note that this is a so-called multi-energy or hybrid-energy system, where the synergies between multiple energy carriers are used to optimize the complete energy system. TNO has a lab to perform real-world tests on hybrid energy systems in Groningen: the HESI (Hybrid Energy System Integration) facility. Key of the technologies being developed at the HESI lab is that they promote interoperability and aim at preventing vendor lock-ins. From an application point of view this is very important because it contributes to realizing a scalable renewable energy system in which end-users have freedom of choice regarding the deciding if their appliances will be controlled by others, and if so by who and to what extend.
Assignment
Your task is to combine our abstract device models and optimization algorithms to the physical device(s) at TNO in order to optimize their operation within the smart grid. The abstractions made ensure that optimal operation schedules can be calculated quickly and energy efficiently on embedded hardware. However, the abstractions introduce a mismatch with the actual device. In this so-called cyber-physical system, it is important to overcome the modeling differences.
You should investigate what methods and tools can be used to overcome this difference. Furthermore, you are expected to implement the models in the Smart Grid optimization software and show a working proof-of-concept in the HESI facility in Groningen. A next step would be to create a test scenario that contains simulated devices and real devices (such as one or more hybrid heat pumps or a battery) too. Advantage can be taken by the software that is already developed and tested at the UT and the software of TNO, however, there is definitely new software to be developed in the assignment. Both TNO and the University of Twente will guide you in this process.