Investigation of residential heat and transport electrification considering grid flexibility within existing zero energy houses

Abstract

The development of distributed energy resources (DERs) provides favorable conditions for building energy systems decarbonization. However, the rising penetration of DERs has led to many challenges, such as supply-demand imbalances and sharp increases in net loads. Tapping demand-side flexibility and developing building sector electrification are effective approaches to facilitate the transition to decarbonized and decentralized building energy systems. This study proposes a comprehensive dispatch model to explore the potential for residential electrification flexibility. It is validated through real-world data measured from zero energy houses (ZEHs) in Kyushu, Japan. It assesses the benefits of collaboration between heat pumps and electric vehicles within ZEHs across varied dispatch strategies, including scenarios reflecting the impact of tariff structures and optimization objectives. Furthermore, the seasonal characteristics of the multi-energy coupling are analyzed. The results validate the potential of building electrification, leading to operating cost savings of over 66%. Additionally, a self-consumption rate of more than 77% for photovoltaics is achieved through the deployment of hot water and transportation electrification. When utilizing fixed feed-in and time-of-use tariffs, PV on-site consumption and operating costs show opposite trends.