Life Cycle Optimization of a Zero Carbon Building for CO2e, Energy, and Cost Using Stochastic Controls for an Energy System Integrating a Heat Pump, Solar Air Wall, PV, and a Smart Grid-integrated Thermal Storage (SGTS) Hydronic Battery
Creators: name: Stoyke, Godo Albert
Publisher: name: Environmental Design
Year: 2018
Subjects: subject: Green building rating systems
subject: climate change
subject: CO2e
subject: Carbon return on investment
subject: CROI
subject: IRR
subject: cost-benefit analysis
subject: least-cost climate abatement
subject: residual carbon debt
subject: stochastic control
subject: heat pump
subject: thermal storage
subject: global warming potential
subject: energy efficiency
subject: model predictive control
subject: energy efficiency retrofit
subject: residential
subject: Architecture
subject: FOS: Civil engineering
subject: commercial
subject: GHG emission reduction
subject: energy consumption
subject: Life cycle assessment
subject: Life cycle costing
subject: LCA
subject: LCC
subject: CAGBC LEED
subject: net zero energy building
subject: zero carbon building
subject: ZEB
subject: PassivHaus
subject: passive house
subject: laneway house
subject: Garden suite
subject: zero-peak house
subject: Edmonton
subject: Alberta
subject: Canada
subject: Smart grid-integrated thermal storage (SGTS)
subject: Coefficient of performance
subject: COP
subject: Photovoltaic
subject: solar thermal air wall
subject: solar thermal collector
subject: predictive controls
subject: weather forecast
subject: Environmental Sciences
subject: Energy
subject: Engineering
subject: Engineering--Electronics and Electrical
subject: Engineering--Mechanical

description: The life cycle optimization (LCO) of zero carbon buildings (ZC) was examined, using a laneway house built with photovoltaic and solar air wall (SAW) renewable energy collection, air-to-water heat pump, smart grid-integrated thermal storage (SGTS) hydronic battery with an internet-connected stochastic (predictive) control system in subarctic Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. LCO is for global warming potential (GWP), energy, cost, and renewable friendliness. A life cycle assessment (LCA) based methodology (carbon return on investment – CROI) is proposed for design and retrofit decisions on the basis of GWP and cost. Sustainable building rating systems are modelled for their effectiveness in reducing GWP and energy use and are found to reduce life cycle GWP by 18.3% (LEED 2009 certified), 60.7% (PassivHaus 9.30), 96.9% (net zero) and 97.2% (zero carbon) compared to a home built to Alberta Building Code 2014 (base model – BM) over an 80 year life cycle. LCA of the ZC laneway house found a 94.4% reduction in GWP compared to the BM. In the BM, manufacturing, construction, maintenance and end of life phases contributed only 3.6% of life cycle GWP. A modelled HP with stochastic control, SAW and SGTS reduced annual energy consumption by 49.2% compared to a HP only, and by 61.8% compared to resistive heating. Using hourly grid pricing as a proxy of renewable friendliness, modelled optimization under a simulated dynamic pricing system by using hourly historic Alberta electrical pool pricing averaged over each month as a stochastic control mechanism for the HP showed a statistically significant 60.7% to 71.5% energy cost reduction, compared to a thermostatically controlled HP. Preliminary ZC real-life sensor readings are examined.