Grid interaction of residential net zero buildings and communities in Pune, India

The growing residential electricity consumption in India and the need for a sustainable energy future have led to interest in net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs). This paper analyses the grid interaction of (simulated) solar-based NZEBs using recorded consumption data from actual residential buildings in Pune, India and simulated solar photovoltaic production data. Metrics such as no-grid-interaction probability, minimum/maximum injection, and loss-of-supply probability are evaluated to quantify grid interaction and self-sufficiency of the buildings. Our simulations demonstrate that battery adoption can reduce grid reliance by half with a two-fold improvement in self-sufficiency. Our findings reveal variations in battery sizes for houses with similar average demands. The lower battery sizes are attributed to the alignment between load profile and solar production. We also demonstrate how clustering NZEBs for battery sharing can reduce the battery capacity requirements by 40 to 50% without worsening the grid interaction. The results emphasize the importance of load diversity and load alignment. The study underscores the need to explore NZEB cluster operation for improved self-sufficiency and grid interaction. • Net-zero energy buildings based on actual residential electricity meter data are studied • Sizing of solar and storage exhibits a nearly linear relationship with average daily demand • Alignment in solar and load temporal profiles reduces storage capacity requirements • NZEB cluster operation significantly reduces the storage requirements but may not improve grid interaction