Municipal Building Regulations for Energy Efficiency in Southern Italy

The building sector is still one of the most energy consuming sectors in Italy, like developed countries in Europe. At European level, the main policy driver related to the energy use in buildings is the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD, 2002/91/EC) and its recast. Through the EPBD in- troduction, requirements for certification, inspections, training or renovation are now imposed in Member States. In order to fulfill the expected changes, local regulations are a key factor aiming at sustainable territorial planning. It is thus required support the issue of local rules at municipal level in order to guide local administrators and technicians and to limit discretional power of bureaucracy. In this paper, a review of the most common practices for building regulations in Europe and in Italy is proposed, then the role and the framework of a municipal building regulation for the Southern European area accounting for sustainability features is discussed

Magnetic Levitation – Modelling, Identification and Open Loop Verification

The paper describes a procedure using the first principle modelling and experimental identification of the Magnetic Levitation Model CE 152. It is a modified version of the paper [1]. The difference is that the identification and verification is done in open loop and constraints logic is added in the current paper. The author optimized and simplified dynamic model to a minimum to what is needed to characterize given system for the simulation and control design purposes. Only few open-loop experiments are needed to estimate the unknown parameters. Model quality is verified in open loop where the real and simulated data are compared. The model can serve as a simulation model for some standard control algorithms or as a process model for advanced control method design

APPLICATION TO AN ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF A MULTIOBJECTIVE OPTIMAL VOLT/VAR CONTROL STRATEGY: IMPROVEMENTS AND MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

ABSTRAC

Investigating energy saving potential in a big shopping center through ventilation control

This paper investigates energy saving measures for the ventilation system of large shopping centers. This kind of buildings is characterized by high yearly energy consumptions, because of the high level of operating hours and the frequent use of obsolete technologies. In the analyzed case studies, three big Do It Yourself (DIY) shops, located in Italy, are considered. Two different approaches are considered, they are aimed at reducing the annual energy consumption for the indoor air exchange of the sales area. The first considered retrofit solution consists in the installation of heat recovery exchangers, reducing the energy demand for the air thermal treatment without changing the airflow value. In the second scenario, smart air quality sensors are inputs for the modulation of the air exchange rate according to the actual requirement for indoor air quality. In a third scenario, the application of both retrofit solutions is considered. For each scenario, the paper reports the yearly energy savings, the avoided CO2 emissions and cost saving indicators. Furthermore, as the three shops are equipped with different heating systems and are located in different parts of Italy, a technological and climatic comparison is provided

Privacy and Transparency in Blockchain-based Smart Grid Operations

In the past few years, blockchain technology has emerged in numerous smart grid applications, enabling the construction of systems without the need for a trusted third party. Blockchain offers transparency, traceability, and accountability, which lets various energy management system functionalities be executed through smart contracts, such as monitoring, consumption analysis, and intelligent energy adaptation. Nevertheless, revealing sensitive energy consumption information could render users vulnerable to digital and physical assaults. This paper presents a novel method for achieving a dual balance between privacy and transparency, as well as accountability and verifiability. This equilibrium requires the incorporation of cryptographic tools like Secure Mul- tiparty Computation and Verifiable Secret Sharing within the distributed components of a multi- channel blockchain and its associated smart contracts. We corroborate the suggested architecture throughout the entire process of a Demand Response scenario, from the collection of energy data to the ultimate reward. To address our proposal’s constraints, we present countermeasures against accidental crashes and Byzantine behavior while ensuring that the solution remains appropriate for low-performance IoT devices

Analisi e definizione di strategie di gestione e controllo di sistemi di accumulo elettrico per applicazioni in reti di distribuzione attive automatizzate Report 1 – Analisi dello stato dell’arte

Il presente Report riferisce sui contenuti e sui risultati della prima fase delle attività svolte nell’ambito della ricerca dal titolo: “Analisi e definizione di strategie di gestione e controllo di sistemi di accumulo elettrico per applicazioni in reti di distribuzione attive automatizzate”, oggetto dell’Accordo di Collaborazione tra ENEA e DIEET sottoscritto nel corso del 2011. Nel corso della prima fase delle attività, a partire da un inquadramento generale dei diversi tipi di accumulo di energia elettrica (elettrochimico, meccanico ed elettrico), è stata condotta un’analisi preliminare su metodologie, sistemi d’interfaccia e tecniche di controllo dei sistemi di accumulo, in una visione il più possibile integrata con le esigenze “di sistema”, ovvero in relazione ai principali aspetti che nei prossimi anni caratterizzeranno il funzionamento delle reti di distribuzione e dei loro diversi componenti/sottosistemi, nell’ottica di transizione verso infrastrutture elettriche efficienti, flessibili, dinamiche ed interattive. Tra tali aspetti, in relazione al contesto generale della ricerca, è stato analizzato in particolare il possibile ruolo dei sistemi di accumulo per: - favorire l’integrazione di generazione di energia da fonti rinnovabili contribuendo a risolvere alcune criticità nei servizi di regolazione della tensione e della frequenza della rete; - contribuire ad elevare i livelli di qualità del servizio elettrico; - partecipare ad una gestione ottimale, in termini tecnico-economici, di tutte le risorse di rete: fonti energetiche, unità di accumulo e carichi (implementando idonei programmi di demand-response). Le attività sono state condotte in sinergia con il personale tecnico di ENEA e sono state svolte prevalentemente all’interno dei locali e dei laboratori del DIEET di Palermo

Evaluation of the Administrative Phase-Out of Coal Power Plants on the Italian Electricity Market

Although decarbonisation is one of the most important macro-trends of this century, electricity generation from coal power plants is still broadly common. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of a premature coal power plants phase-out on the Italian day-ahead electricity market. For this purpose, two electricity price forecasts, related to different scenarios between 2019 and 2030, and two different hypotheses for the creation of electricity spot price, were compared. The results from the different scenarios show that coal power plants phase-out determines a small variation in electricity price when bid-up is not considered; instead, when operators’ bid-up is included in the study, the price variation becomes relevant

Optimal Power Flow in three-phase islanded microgrids with inverter interfaced units

In this paper, the solution of the optimal power flow (OPF) problem for three phase islanded microgrids is studied, the OPF being one of the core functions of the tertiary regulation level for an AC islanded microgrid with a hierarchical control architecture. The study also aims at evaluating the contextual adjustment of the droop parameters used for primary voltage and frequency regulation of inverter interfaced units. The output of the OPF provides an iso-frequential operating point for all the generation units and a set of droop parameters for primary regulation. In this way, secondary regulation can be neglected in the considered hierarchical control structure. The application section provides the solution of the OPF problem over networks of different sizes and a stability analysis of the microgrid system using the optimized droop parameters, thus giving rise to the optimized management of the system with a new hierarchical control architecture

Earth resistance measurements in urban contexts: Problems and possible solutions

Both EN 50522 and IEEE Std. 81 propose the Fall of Potential Method (FPM) to carry out the measurement of the resistance to earth of an Earthing System (ES). However, in urban areas, the recommended distances between the ES and auxiliary electrodes are not easy to respect, due to the presence of buildings and tarmac. Moreover, unknown buried metallic parts, as well as the interconnection among the ESs made by the Distributor System Operator, could modify the earth potential profile of the area, affecting the measurement results. In this paper, the issues that could affect the measurement result if FPM is used in an urban context are presented. A parametric analysis, carried out with Comsol Multiphysics, quantifies the errors due to wrong positioning of the auxiliary electrodes with reference to the ES under test. In addition, a field measurement is described, emphasizing the main aspects that could compromise the results. Finally, practical suggestions to reduce errors are provided