Conference Paper

2018 Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild co-organized by ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA

Sensitivity of Low-Voltage Grid Impact Indicators to Weather Conditions in Residential District Energy Modeling

Christina Protopapadaki, Dirk Saelens
KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
EnergyVille, Genk, Belgium

Abstract: Heat pumps and photovoltaic systems become more common in residential neighborhoods, where they alter the traditional relationship with the electricity distribution grid, causing congestion and voltage problems. This paper investigates the influence of weather data on low-voltage grid impact indicators calculated within a previously developed probabilistic framework. We compared results for seven different synthetic weather years, generated for Belgium using Meteonorm, ranging from average" to "extreme cold winter and sunny summer" as well as two future scenarios for 2050. Since peak demand and generation are influenced by ambient temperature and solar irradiation respectively, extreme values in weather inputs can potentially determine the outcome of an impact analysis. We, therefore, argue not to rely on average synthetic weather year profiles. Additionally, the impact of using a single representative week as alternative to year-long simulation was investigated.
Pages: 783 - 790
Paper: