Active buildings based on passivhaus standard to reduce the energy deficit of regional electric network: proposal analysis.

Abstract

This manuscript presents the analysis of a real distributed generation network considering the integration of Active Buildings that meet the Passivhaus standard criteria at the Premium level, as a base case model. The novelty aspect presented in this paper is the interconnection of Active Buildings based on the Passivhaus standard at the Premium level with the National Electricity System (particularly, in Mexico’s North Baja California region) to mitigate the energy deficit. The objective of the proposal grid is to reduce the energy deficit (≈600 MW) due to the high energy demand in the region and the reduced energy generation through conventional and renewable energy sources. In a particular way, the energy rehabilitation of some buildings was analyzed with the aim of reducing the energy demand of each one and then adding energy generation through renewable sources. As a result, all Passivhaus standard criteria (i.e., heating and cooling demands, heating and cooling loads, among others) were met. Regarding the Active Buildings performance in each distributed generation circuit, an overall installed power capacity of ≈2.3 MW was obtained, which corresponds to ≈19.1% of the maximum capacity, and ≈34.30% of the recommended integration capacity. In addition, adequate results were obtained related to the import and export of energy between distributed generation circuits, i.e., the energy exchange is up to ≈106.8 kW, intending to reduce the energy contribution of the utility electrical network. Finally, the analysis of the Active Buildings showed an increase in the net generation forecast, up to ≈2.25 MW.