Design and Implementation of Renewable Hydrogen-Based System for Social Housing Decarbonization
Authors: Maestre Víctor Manuel , Ortiz Sainz De Aja Alfredo , Ortiz Uribe Inmaculada 
Published: September 2023

The energy transition towards a decarbonized economy requires focused and ambitious policies that must be taken through the agreement of governments, stakeholders, and private companies. The intermittency of renewable energy sources (RES) makes it necessary to implement energy storage systems (ESS) that allow for an uninterrupted supply of low-carbon power. Energy generation and consumption activities are responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions. Particularly, energy use in commercial and residential buildings is the third major contributor after industry and agricultural activities 1. In this context, hydrogen as an energy vector facilitates and enhances RES penetration in the energy mix. Moreover, it can be employed as a fuel or commodity to obtain other chemical compounds 2. Hence, hybrid renewable hydrogen-based systems (RHS) can play a key role in buildings decarbonization 3. On top of that, green hydrogen may tackle other problems such as energy poverty faced by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens 4.

In this context, the SUDOE ENERGY PUSH project proposes an innovative solution for the overall management of social housing located in the regions of southwestern Europe to increase the energy efficiency of public buildings and improve the living standards of vulnerable citizens. Through passive renovation, RES, and BIM methodology, it aims at reducing the consumption and emissions of buildings and at improving the comfort of the inhabitants, overcoming the risks of energy poverty. In this context, a pilot plant combining RES and hydrogen technologies has been implemented in a social housing in Cantabria (Spain) to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the system. This demonstration is aimed at achieving energy self-sufficiency of the house throughout the year while saving remarkable amounts of primary energy and CO2 emissions. The primary source of the system will be solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. To combat PV intermittency and harness the periods with energetic surpluses, different energy storage systems (ESS) have been installed within the pilot plant: lithium-ion batteries for short-term energy storage and hydrogen-based technologies for seasonal energy storage. Furthermore, a compressor has been included to reduce the hydrogen storage volume and a programmable logic controller (PLC) rules the operation of the configuration based on the state of charge of the batteries, so that the PLC decides which equipment operates at what time. Finally, the pilot plant is continuously monitored to optimize the control algorithm and enhance the overall performance of the implementation.

To carry out the design of the system, an hourly load profile has been built by compiling real consumption data from the smart meter of a home during a year to obtain an accurate hourly load demand. Subsequently, meteorological resources of the location have been considered to obtain an hourly renewable generation profile. Furthermore, equipment costs and characteristics, apart from compressor energy demand have been taken into account. The main objective is to reduce the system size and the resulting levelized cost of energy, as well as increasing the overall efficiency of the system 5.

According to the simulated operation of the pilot plant, the home can be disconnected from the grid, saving up to 7,000 kWh per year of primary energy from the grid, 1,000 kg per year of CO2 emissions while consuming 100% clean electricity and more than 600 € per year in electricity bills. As per November 2022, more than 3,500 kWh of primary energy, more than 500 kg of CO2 and more than 400 € have been saved in a six month period, showing a great correlation between the simulation and the real outcomes obtained during the normal functioning of the plant.

Acknowledgment

This research is being supported by the Project ENERGY PUSH SOE3/P3/E0865, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERPF) in the framework of the INTERREG SUDOE program, as well as the project, “HYLANTIC”-EAPA_204/2016 within the framework of the INTERREG ATLANTIC program. Furthermore, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities is also supporting this investigation through the projects PID2021-123120OB-I00, TED2021-129951B-C21 and PLEC2021- 007718

References

1 H. Ritchie and M. Roser, CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

2 I. Staffell, et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2019, 12, 463–491.

3 V. M. Maestre, A. Ortiz and I. Ortiz, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., 2021, 152, 111628.

4 V. M. Maestre, A. Ortiz and I. Ortiz, J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol., 2022, 97, 561–574.

5 V. M. Maestre, A. Ortiz and I. Ortiz, J. Energy Storage, 2022, 56, 105889.

Figure 1