Category: GED

SBS Lab Members Visit University of Colorado Boulder Energy Plant

Nathan Kurtz on

SBS lab has been working on the DOE Grid-Interactive Efficient District (GED) energy system project for 3 years. Team meetings have been conducted weekly via zoom, but today the team held their first in-person meeting in Boulder. They received an amazing tour of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Energy Plant by Ken Morse. It was a great experience to see the energy plant and actually meet with the team in-person after all these years! We look forward to our continued collaborations and research.

The GED project focuses on the coordination of thermal-electrical-control networks. Which is essential for the optimal design of grid-interactive efficient district (GED) energy systems, particularly when renewable energy sources are integrated. This joint research is to create a holistic open-source modeling and optimization platform for the optimal design and retrofit of GED energy systems. The project includes teams from Pennsylvania State University, University of Colorado Boulder, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Texas Austin, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, National Renewable Energy Lab, and Amzur Technologies.

SBS Lab Member Saranya Anbarasu to Present Research at SimBuild 2024

Nathan Kurtz on

We are excited to have Saranya Anbarasu present her poster on “Optimization Operational Costs in Combined Heat and Power Integrated District Heating Systems: A Reinforcement Learning Approach.” This poster shows the application of cutting-edge AI technology to complex district energy systems. This is the outcome of our DOE project “Optimal Co-Design of Integrated Thermal-Electrical Networks and Control Systems for Grid-Interactive Efficient District (GED) Energy Systems.” This research was co-authored with current lab members Rosina Adhikari, Katy Hinkelman, Zhanwei Hu, and former lab members Ardeshir Moftakhari and Tanmay Ambadkar.

We are so excited to see our lab members presenting their work. To see a summary of the presentation and details for where it will be held follow this link.

SBS Lab Member Zhanwei He to Present Research at SimBuild 2024

Nathan Kurtz on

We are excited to have Zhanwei He present “Computationally Efficient and Accurate Modeling of Combined Heating and Power Systems for District Energy Applications” at SimBuild 2024 in Technical session 8: Grid Interactions and Distributed Energy Resources. The presentation introduces Modelica-based simplified combined heat and power (CHP) models that achieve computational efficiency and high accuracy. This is the outcome of our DOE project “Optimal Co-Design of Integrated Thermal-Electrical Networks and Control Systems for Grid-Interactive Efficient District (GED) Energy Systems.” Zhanwei is working with current lab members Saranya Anbarasu, Katy Hinkelman, lab alumni Ardi Moftakhari, and Lawrence Berkley National Lab’s Jianjun Hu to release these models in the Modelica Buildings Library.

We are so excited to see our lab members presenting their work. To see a summary of the presentation and details for where it will be held follow this link.

Lab Member Saranya Anbarasu Becomes Modelica Buildings Library Developer

Nathan Kurtz on

With the release of Modelica Buildings Library v10.0.0, lab member Saranya Anbarasu became a model developer for the Modelica Buildings Library, an open-source modeling repository for building and district energy systems and controls that is managed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Congratulations to Saranya for achieving this role! As part of the GED Research Project, Saranya contributed a numerically efficient pressure-reducing valve for steam heating systems. She also made improvements to several steam district heating models for fast and accurate simulation of these large-scale thermofluid systems. We are excited to see all of the contributions she will make continue to make towards the Modelica Buildings Library. To learn more about our lab’s work with the Modelica Buildings Library click here.

Second Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting for GED Project

Julia Ho on
GED

The second TAG meeting for the Grid-Interactive Efficient District (GED) Project took place Monday, Oct. 31st. The multi-year, DOE-funded project’s TAG meetings occur at the beginning of each budget period. Principal investigators gathered to discuss progress and next steps for the project.

The GED project aims to create an open-source platform that makes optimizing energy use in microgrid and district energy systems more accessible. To do this, the project is creating, calibrating, and combining thermal, electrical, and control system models to more accurately predict energy use and potential savings. In addition to creating the novel platform, the researchers are conducting case studies on UT Austin and CU Boulder campuses to validate the platform and demonstrate potential energy savings.