Quantification of the Flexibility Enhancement with Micro-Scale Multi-Energy Coupling

The rise of distributed and non-dispatchable generation in the distribution network presents challenges in maintaining voltage and power limits. Demand response has great potential to tackle those issues, particularly with thermal loads due to the thermal inertia of buildings and heat storage systems. Residential buildings are currently heated through different energy carriers, such as gas, electricity, and district heating, with each building usually having its own heating system. However, there is the possibility to connect neighboring buildings through hot water connections. The improvement of the system’s flexibility by such micro-scale multi-energy coupling is analyzed using a model predictive control approach for the operation of the buildings and the concept of flexibility envelopes.