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Advanced PV Solutions for Achieving the NZEB Goal

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 July 2024 | Viewed by 4379

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Special Issue Editor

Department of Information Engineering, Infrastructures and Sustainable Energy (D.I.I.E.S.), 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Interests: power systems; power electronics; power quality; renewable energy; photovoltaic systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue “Advanced PV solutions for achieving the NZEB goal”, to be published in Energies, is now open for submissions.

Net (or nearly) zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) are highly efficient buildings with an extremely low external energy demand. NZEBs are the basis for smart cities and smart societies. Such buildings must self-produce as much energy per year as they consume. To achieve this goal, NZEBs must first strongly reduce their energy demand via advanced design and construction techniques together with highly efficient equipment. They must then locally generate the energy they need by using, as much as possible, renewable energy sources (RESs). Solar energy plays a fundamental role in this scenarios; the utilization of PV plants in NEZBs thus assumes a basic relevance. Therefore, research on advanced PV solutions aiming to maximize/optimize the installation of PV plants in NEZBs is urgently needed. Advanced PV solutions for NEZBs should cover a wide application area and address many aspects. For instance, they should profitably apply to: (i) techniques and technologies for architectonic/structural integration of PV generators in buildings (BIPVs); (ii) performance and cost optimization of BIPVs; (iii) criteria for designing and building composite/hybrid PV generators (i.e., PV+wind-, PV+thermal-, and/or PV+hydrogen-based generators, etc.); (iii) techniques and technologies for electrical energy storage and conversion and so on.

This Special Issue solicits original research and studies related to the abovementioned PV-based solutions for NZEBs, including but not limited to: design and construction of next-generation NEZBs with PV generators; PV solutions for building integration; building-oriented composite/hybrid PV generators; electricity storage and conversion; simulations and energy performance analyses; mapping of performance differences; and new-generation solar trackers.

Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Recent advances in electrical plants for NZEBs;
  • Modeling and simulation tools for making complete building energy performance analyses;
  • Design criteria for building-oriented PV systems;
  • Building integration of PV systems;
  • Building-oriented composite/hybrid PV systems;
  • Electricity storage systems for photovoltaic applications;
  • Electricity conversion systems for photovoltaic applications;
  • Next generation of solar trackers for photovoltaic systems.

Dr. Rosario Carbone
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • NZEB
  • smart cities
  • PV systems
  • design of PV systems
  • modeling, simulation, and analysis of PV systems
  • electricity storage
  • electricity conversion
  • BIPV systems
  • PV solar trackers

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 5697 KiB  
Article
Fuzzy Approach for Managing Renewable Energy Flows for DC-Microgrid with Composite PV-WT Generators and Energy Storage System
by Mario Versaci and Fabio La Foresta
Energies 2024, 17(2), 402; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17020402 - 13 Jan 2024
Viewed by 619
Abstract
Recently, the implementation of software/hardware systems based on advanced artificial intelligence techniques for continuous monitoring of the electrical parameters of intelligent networks aimed at managing and controlling energy consumption has been of great interest. The contribution of this paper, starting from a recently [...] Read more.
Recently, the implementation of software/hardware systems based on advanced artificial intelligence techniques for continuous monitoring of the electrical parameters of intelligent networks aimed at managing and controlling energy consumption has been of great interest. The contribution of this paper, starting from a recently studied DC-MG, fits into this context by proposing an intuitionistic fuzzy Takagi–Sugeno approach optimized for the energy management of isolated direct current microgrid systems consisting of a photovoltaic and a wind source. Furthermore, a lead-acid battery guarantees the stability of the DC bus while a hydrogen cell ensures the reliability of the system by avoiding blackout conditions and increasing interaction with the loads. The fuzzy rule bank, initially built using the expert’s knowledge, is optimized with the aforementioned procedure, maximizing external energy and minimizing consumption. The complete scheme, modeled using MatLab/Simulink, highlighted performance comparable to fuzzy Takagi–Sugeno systems optimized using a hybrid approach based on particle swarm optimization (to structure the antecedents of the rules) and minimum batch squares (to optimize the output). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced PV Solutions for Achieving the NZEB Goal)
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14 pages, 6210 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Output Characteristics of a Vertical Photovoltaic System Based on Operational Data: A Case Study in Republic of Korea
by Seung-Min Lee, Eui-Chan Lee, Jung-Hun Lee, Sun-Ho Yu, Jae-Sil Heo, Woo-Young Lee and Bong-Suck Kim
Energies 2023, 16(19), 6971; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16196971 - 06 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1344
Abstract
The proliferation of renewable energy sources to achieve carbon neutrality has rapidly increased the adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Consequently, specialized solar PV systems have emerged for various installation purposes. This study focuses on grid connecting vertically installed bifacial PV modules facing east [...] Read more.
The proliferation of renewable energy sources to achieve carbon neutrality has rapidly increased the adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Consequently, specialized solar PV systems have emerged for various installation purposes. This study focuses on grid connecting vertically installed bifacial PV modules facing east and west by establishing a test bed within Republic of Korea. Based on weather and generation data collected in Republic of Korea, located in the middle of latitude 34.98° N, from January to July 2023, we analyzed and compared the generation patterns, peak generation, peak hours, and total generation of conventional and vertical PV systems. Moreover, PVsyst was used to model the solar PV generation and analyze the consistency and viability of vertical PV generation by comparing actual operational data with simulation results. The vertical PV system demonstrated a peak power generation of 89.1% compared with the conventional PV system with bifacial modules. Based on operational data from January to July, the power generation output of the vertical PV system decreased to 65.7% compared with that of the conventional system with bifacial modules. This corresponded to 78.8% to 80.2% based on the PVsyst simulation results. In particular, the investigations related to the peak generation levels and occurrence times of vertical PV systems provide insights into the practicality of vertical solar PV systems and their potential for improving the PV hosting capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced PV Solutions for Achieving the NZEB Goal)
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29 pages, 10047 KiB  
Article
A Building-Integrated Bifacial and Transparent PV Generator Operated by an “Under-Glass” Single Axis Solar Tracker
by Rosario Carbone and Cosimo Borrello
Energies 2023, 16(17), 6350; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16176350 - 01 Sep 2023
Viewed by 844
Abstract
Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) play a key role in the world energy transition. This is motivating the scientific community to develop innovative electrical and thermal systems characterized by very high efficiency to specifically address the energy needs of modern buildings. Naturally, the [...] Read more.
Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) play a key role in the world energy transition. This is motivating the scientific community to develop innovative electrical and thermal systems characterized by very high efficiency to specifically address the energy needs of modern buildings. Naturally, the integration of the latest generation photovoltaic (PV) systems into buildings helps to satisfy this need, and, with this objective in mind, an innovative and highly efficient building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system is presented and discussed in this paper. The proposed PV system is purpose-built to be fully integrated into a variety of buildings (preferably into their rooftops) and assumes the form of a PV skylight. It is based on a certain number of innovative rotating bifacial PV modules, which are specifically made to be installed “under-glass” within a custom-made transparent casing. Thanks to their properties, the PV modules can be rotated using a very low-power, reliable, and efficient mono-axial solar tracking system, fully protected against adverse atmospheric agents. Once the proposed PV skylight is fully integrated into a building, it generates electricity and, additionally, helps to improve both the energy performance and the aesthetic appearance of the building. The electricity generation and illuminance performances of the proposed PV skylight are experimentally tested using a low-power homemade prototype driven by different solar tracking logics and under different operating conditions; the most relevant results are summarized and extensively discussed. The main outcome of the experimental study is that the most effective performance of the PV skylight is obtained by installing, in its available surface, the maximum possible number of rotating bifacial PV modules, side by side and with no empty spaces between them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced PV Solutions for Achieving the NZEB Goal)
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20 pages, 7264 KiB  
Article
Study of an nZEB Office Building with Storage in Electric Vehicle Batteries and Dispatch of a Natural Gas-Fuelled Generator
by George Stamatellos and Tassos Stamatelos
Energies 2023, 16(7), 3195; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073195 - 01 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 854
Abstract
The rapid electrification of vehicles has led to a great increase in numbers of charging stations and a growing appetite for charging power, with stochastic charging behaviours heavily loading the electricity grid. The upcoming difficulties and increasing costs associated with electricity production will [...] Read more.
The rapid electrification of vehicles has led to a great increase in numbers of charging stations and a growing appetite for charging power, with stochastic charging behaviours heavily loading the electricity grid. The upcoming difficulties and increasing costs associated with electricity production will require a rapid development of smart grids and city networks. Smart micro-grids established in nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) are a promising strategy to support grid stability and resilience at a reduced cost. A significant amount of electricity storage capacity is necessary for optimal dispatch of the self-produced photovoltaic electricity. For office buildings, this capacity can be provided by the aggregate battery storage of the employees’ electric vehicles, which connect to the smart grid during working hours for charging and, if allowed, for discharging. An additional, fully controllable electricity source that is necessary to support an optimal micro-grid is the internal combustion engine-powered generator that is present in every commercial and office building as an emergency power supply. In the current study, a preliminary investigation of a smart micro-grid in a near zero-energy office building with a 218 kWp rooftop photovoltaic installation is carried out. The required electricity storage capacity is supplied by the employees’ electric vehicles, which stay connected to the building’s in-house chargers during working hours. The optimal rating of the natural gas-fuelled GenSet is determined based on a system’s operation and control study. Optimal dispatch of the different power sources to support the building’s autonomy and seasonal timing of electricity export to the grid is studied versus the electricity demand profiles of the electricity grid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced PV Solutions for Achieving the NZEB Goal)
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