Analysis of Distributed Energy System for a Typical SoCal Residential Home

This study presents a simulation and cost analysis of a distributed energy system for a typical Southern California residential home. A method of simulating a residentially distributed energy system comprised of a fuel cell, a battery, and photovoltaics has been developed. The simulation was performed by developing solar insolation profiles and diurnal demand profiles from energy statistics, and then using them to determine the performance of the system components and estimate the annual operational costs. The results of this simulation were then used to assess the cost effectiveness of the energy system as household size and system component capacities were varied. The simulation results show that the increasing of the photovoltaic capacity has a significant impact on reducing the payback time as higher capacities reduce operation costs by allowing for more electricity to be sold back to the grid. The results payback period decreases as the number of members in a household increases. However, it is found that variation in the capacity of the battery does not have a significant impact on payback time and tends to reduce system performance or adds unnecessary cost if capacity increases or decreases from an optimal value. The present work plays an important role not only for policy makers and utility companies to promote the renewable energy usage, but also for residents to understand the benefits of distributed energy system in residential applications.