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Hurwitz, Zachary Lawrence

Mechanical Engineering

2020

M.S.

Multi-energy systems offer an opportunity to leverage energy conversion processes and temporary energy storage mechanisms to reduce costs and emissions during operation of campuses, cities, and buildings. With increasing options for flexibility in demand-side resources it is possible to meet demand without sacrificing comfort and convenience of MES occupants. This Thesis develops a multi-period, linear optimization model of an MES with flexible buildings that captures nonlinearities in the efficiency of energy conversion processes. The flexible buildings are parametrized, in part, based on historical data from a college campus in Vermont, USA. The idea of the MES model is to investigate the role that flexibility plays in reducing costs and emissions for a small campus relative to that of a possible carbon tax. The operation of the MES is optimized to reduce costs based on representative seasons. Interestingly, it is found that when utilized optimally, flexible buildings allows for a more cost and energy effective method of not only meeting demand but also reducing carbon emissions in the process.