Browsing by Author "Faria, Pedro"
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- Advances in smart grids - benefits on sharing background experiences from Portugal, Central Europe and BrazilPublication . Vale, Zita; Styczynski, Zbigniew; Hadjsaid, Nouredine; Caire, Raphael; Souza, André; Rolim, Jacqueline; Ferreira, Golberi; Aquiles, José; Morais, H.; Faria, PedroThis paper presents ELECON - Electricity Consumption Analysis to Promote Energy Efficiency Considering Demand Response and Non-technical Losses, an international research project that involves European and Brazilian partners. ELECON focuses on energy efficiency increasing through consumer´s active participation which is a key area for Europe and Brazil cooperation. The project aims at significantly contributing towards the successful implementation of smart grids, focussing on the use of new methods that allow the efficient use of distributed energy resources, namely distributed generation, storage and demand response. ELECON puts together researchers from seven European and Brazilian partners, with consolidated research background and evidencing complementary competences. ELECON involves institutions of 3 European countries (Portugal, Germany, and France) and 4 Brazilian institutions. The complementary background and experience of the European and Brazilian partners is of main relevance to ensure the capacities required to achieve the proposed goals. In fact, the European Union (EU) and Brazil have very different resources and approaches in what concerns this area. Having huge hydro and fossil resources, Brazil has not been putting emphasis on distributed renewable based electricity generation. On the contrary, EU has been doing huge investments in this area, taking into account environmental concerns and also the economic EU external dependence dictated by huge requirements of energy related products imports. Sharing these different backgrounds allows the project team to propose new methodologies able to efficiently address the new challenges of smart grids.
- Aggregation and Remuneration of Electricity Consumers and Producers for the Definition of Demand-Response ProgramsPublication . Faria, Pedro; Spínola, João; Vale, ZitaThe use of distributed generation and demand-response (DR) programs is needed for improving business models, namely concerning the remuneration of these resources in the context of smart grids. In this paper, a methodology is proposed in which a virtual power player aggregates several small-sized resources, including consumers participating in DR programs. The global operation costs resulting from the resource scheduling are minimized. After scheduling the resources in several operation scenarios, clustering tools are applied in order to obtain distinct resources’ groups. The remuneration structure that better fits the aggregator goals is then determined. Two clustering algorithms are compared: 1) hierarchical; nd 2) fuzzy c-means clustering. The remuneration of small resources and consumers that are aggregated is made considering the maximum tariff in each group. The implemented case study considers 2592 operation scenarios based on a real Portuguese distribution network with 548 distributed generators and 20 310 consumers.
- Aggregation of Consumers and Producers in a Community with different Clustering MethodsPublication . Silva, Cátia; Faria, Pedro; Vale, Zita; Starzacher, NikolausThe consumer concept is shaping up as the grid is improving to a smart way. Moving from an actor with little information about what was happening in the energy market, to player with an active and important role in its management. The term prosumer will revolutionize the way the electrical system operates. The possibility of the participation of distributed small-scale energy resources in the network infrastructure changes the current management model. The authors propose a model that optimally associates all concepts. Scheduling, aggregation and compensation are the main phases that compose this model. In this paper, the author focusses only on the second, being the main goal compare between being a consumer, a producer or a prosumer in this method. In this way, two partitional clustering methods were used, testing different k clusters.
- Aggregation of Consumers Participation in the Ramping of a Demand Response EventPublication . Abrishambaf, Omid; Faria, Pedro; Vale, ZitaAs the global population is daily soaring, the need for electrical energy is also increasing. This makes the role of the power distribution network more tangible, as the efficiency of all sectors should be increased. The need for smart management and strategic planning, such as demand response programs are obvious in the context. This paper proposes an aggregator model that employs DR programs for managing the network balance. In this model, a specific analysis has been provided for the ramp period and demand response timeline to show the financial behaviors of the aggregator. In the case study of the paper, two demand response events are proposed using actual consumption profiles and a cost comparison has been presented using various pricing schemes. The results remark the costs related to the ramp period before the event and show how such costs are important in daily electricity expenses of the aggregator model.
- Aggregation Validation Approach for the Management of Resources in a Smart GridPublication . Spínola, João; Faria, Pedro; Vale, ZitaPower systems evolution to an intelligent energy system – smart grid, encounters several issues when integrating distributed generation and demand response. At the aggregator level, activities such as the energy resource management, capacities aggregation and resources remuneration are needed. The present paper addresses the previous needs of the aggregator by considering an optimization of the resources scheduling, followed by an aggregation of resources, and their remuneration is performed. The considered case study is composed by 20 suppliers, 548 distributed generators and 20310 consumers participating in three distinct demand response programs: load reduction, curtailment and real-time pricing.
- Agricultural irrigation scheduling for a crop management system considering water and energy use optimizationPublication . Abrishambaf, Omid; Faria, Pedro; Gomes, Luis; Vale, ZitaCenter pivot systems are widely used to overcome the irrigation needs of agricultural fields. In this paper, an autonomous approach is proposed in order to improve the low efficiency of irrigation by developing a system based on the water requirement of the plantations, through field data. The data are local temperature, local wind, soil moisture, precipitation forecast, and soil evapotranspiration calculation. This information enables the system to calculate the real evapotranspiration for not being necessary to restrict to lysimetric measures. By this way, the system schedules the irrigation for the lower cost periods, considering the produced energy by the local resources, and the price of energy purchased from the utility grid. Also, it is considered that the irrigation must be carried out within the time interval in which the plantations do not reach the wilding point, so it will be carried out at the periods with the lowest cost. This will optimize the overall operational costs of the irrigation.
- Air conditioner consumption optimization in an office building considering user comfortPublication . Khorram Ghahfarrokhi, Mahsa; Faria, Pedro; Abrishambaf, Omid; Vale, ZitaThe rapid growth of energy consumption and its consequences in the last decades, made the world persuaded to energy optimization and energy management. Therefore, producers and prosumers should be equipped with the automation infrastructures to perform the management programs, such as demand response programs. Office buildings are considering as a proper case for implementing energy consumption minimization since they are responsible for a huge portion of total energy consumption in the world. This paper proposes a multi-period optimization algorithm implemented in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system of an office building. The developed optimization algorithm is an efficient solution considered for minimizing the power consumption of air conditioners by considering the user comfort constraints. Two determinative parameters are defined to prevent over-power reduction from certain devices. In order to respect to user preferences, priority numbers are dedicated to each air conditioner to present the importance of each device. A case study with several scenarios is implemented to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm in real life using real data of the building. The obtained results show the impacts of proposed parameters and different comfort constraints of algorithm while the main target of the optimization has been reached.
- Air Conditioning Consumption Optimization Based on CO2 Concentration LevelPublication . Khorram Ghahfarrokhi, Mahsa; Zheiry, Modar; Faria, Pedro; Vale, ZitaNowadays, energy consumption increasing is a big concern for many countries around the world. Disadvantages and consequences of fossil fuels for the environment caused a lot of efforts to invest in renewable energy resources and programs to optimize energy consumption. All types of buildings are the major consumers of electric power. Therefore, buildings can be considered as good options for implementing optimization algorithms, assuming that they are equipped to required infrastructures. Air conditioners are flexible loads that can be directly controlled by optimization programs. This paper presents a particle swarm optimization algorithm to minimize the power consumption of the air conditioners based on the carbon dioxide concentration level. The algorithm considers the thermal comfort of users with defining restrictions. The case study of the paper proposes two scenarios with real monitored data of a building. The result of the paper shows the obtained results of the algorithm and makes the comparison of two scenarios.
- Allocation of Fixed Costs Considering Distributed Generation and Distinct Approaches of Demand Response Remuneration in Distribution NetworksPublication . Pereira, Fábio; Soares, João; Faria, Pedro; Vale, ZitaIn the present context the distribution networks are characterized by the increasing penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) resources, which imposes important changes in operation practice. Moreover, the concept of Demand Response (DR) is currently a very important resource. The present paper proposes a methodology that makes possible the allocation of fixed costs in distribution networks considering the integration of DG and DR resources. It considers several possibilities for consumers DR remuneration. The fixed cost allocation is determined in three phases – DC Optimal Power Flow (DCOPF), Kirschen's tracing method, and MW-mile method. The presented case study contemplates a distribution network with 49 buses, 47 DG units, 4 external suppliers and 50 consumers.
- An Aggregation Model for Energy Resources Management and Market NegotiationsPublication . Abrishambaf, Omid; Faria, Pedro; Spínola, João; Vale, ZitaCurrently the use of distributed energy resources, especially renewable generation, and demand response programs are widely discussed in scientific contexts, since they are a reality in nowadays electricity markets and distribution networks. In order to benefit from these concepts, an efficient energy management system is needed to prevent energy wasting and increase profits. In this paper, an optimization based aggregation model is presented for distributed energy resources and demand response program management. This aggregation model allows different types of customers to participate in electricity market through several tariffs based demand response programs. The optimization algorithm is a mixed-integer linear problem, which focuses on minimizing operational costs of the aggregator. Moreover, the aggregation process has been done via K-Means clustering algorithm, which obtains the aggregated costs and energy of resources for remuneration. By this way, the aggregator is aware of energy available and minimum selling price in order to participate in the market with profit. A realistic low voltage distribution network has been proposed as a case study in order to test and validate the proposed methodology. This distribution network consists of 25 distributed generation units, including photovoltaic, wind and biomass generation, and 20 consumers, including residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.