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Energy consumed for air conditioning in residential and tertiary sectors accounts for a large share of global use. To reduce the environmental impacts burdening the covering of such demands, the adoption of renewable energy technologies is increasing. In this regard, this paper evaluates the energy and environmental benefits achievable by integrating a dish-Stirling concentrator into energy systems used for meeting the air conditioning demand of an office building. Two typical reference energy plants are assumed: (i) a natural gas boiler for heating purposes and air-cooled chillers for the cooling periods, and (ii) a reversible heat pump for both heating and cooling. For both systems, a dish-Stirling concentrator is assumed to operate first in electric-mode and then in a cogenerative-mode. Detailed models are adopted for plant components and implemented in the TRNSYS environment. Results show that when the concentrator is operating in electric-mode the electricity purchased from the grid decreases by about 72% for the first plant, and 65% for the second plant. Similar reductions are obtained for CO2 emissions. Even better performance may be achieved in the case of the cogenerative-mode. In the first plant, the decrease in natural gas consumption is about 85%. In the second plant, 66.7% is the percentage increase in avoided electricity purchase. The integration of the dish-Stirling system allows promising energy-saving and reduction in CO2 emissions. However, both a reduction in capital cost and financial support are needed to encourage the diffusion of this technology.
Stefania Guarino; Pietro Catrini; Alessandro Buscemi; Valerio Lo Brano; Antonio Piacentino. Assessing the Energy-Saving Potential of a Dish-Stirling Con-Centrator Integrated Into Energy Plants in the Tertiary Sector. Energies 2021, 14, 1163 .
AMA StyleStefania Guarino, Pietro Catrini, Alessandro Buscemi, Valerio Lo Brano, Antonio Piacentino. Assessing the Energy-Saving Potential of a Dish-Stirling Con-Centrator Integrated Into Energy Plants in the Tertiary Sector. Energies. 2021; 14 (4):1163.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefania Guarino; Pietro Catrini; Alessandro Buscemi; Valerio Lo Brano; Antonio Piacentino. 2021. "Assessing the Energy-Saving Potential of a Dish-Stirling Con-Centrator Integrated Into Energy Plants in the Tertiary Sector." Energies 14, no. 4: 1163.
Commercial buildings play a key-role in the energy consumption of the building sectors. Recent statistics have shown that as the number of commercial buildings is continuously increasing, their effects on energy consumption are expected to grow. These buildings are characterized by high energy demand mainly due to lighting and HVAC requirements. Rooms of energy saving exist by considering that: (i) electricity demands and HVAC requirements occur simultaneously during the day and (ii) both demands are currently satisfied by using separate energy systems. It is apparent that the adoption of polygeneration systems could represent a valid solution to achieve energy savings. To this aim, the paper investigated the profitability of a trigeneration system for commercial buildings, considering a big Do It Yourself shop located in the northern part of Italy, as case study. The analysis was based on (i) energy consumption data collected by energy-audits and (ii) a profit-oriented management strategy for the trigeneration systems proposed in literature. Results showed that trigeneration represents a profitable energy conversion system thanks to revenues achieved by selling surplus electricity and the support of financial mechanism for “High-Efficient” eligibility. In comparison with the currently adopted energy conversion systems, important reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions are observed.
Pietro Catrini; Domenico Curto; Vincenzo Franzitta; Fabio Cardona. Improving energy efficiency of commercial buildings by Combined Heat Cooling and Power plants. Sustainable Cities and Society 2020, 60, 102157 .
AMA StylePietro Catrini, Domenico Curto, Vincenzo Franzitta, Fabio Cardona. Improving energy efficiency of commercial buildings by Combined Heat Cooling and Power plants. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2020; 60 ():102157.
Chicago/Turabian StylePietro Catrini; Domenico Curto; Vincenzo Franzitta; Fabio Cardona. 2020. "Improving energy efficiency of commercial buildings by Combined Heat Cooling and Power plants." Sustainable Cities and Society 60, no. : 102157.
Antonio Piacentino; Pietro Catrini; Natasa Markovska; Zvonimir Guzović; Brian Vad Mathiesen; Simone Ferrari; Neven Duić; Henrik Lund. Editorial: Sustainable development of energy, Water and Environment Systems. Energy 2019, 190, 116432 .
AMA StyleAntonio Piacentino, Pietro Catrini, Natasa Markovska, Zvonimir Guzović, Brian Vad Mathiesen, Simone Ferrari, Neven Duić, Henrik Lund. Editorial: Sustainable development of energy, Water and Environment Systems. Energy. 2019; 190 ():116432.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonio Piacentino; Pietro Catrini; Natasa Markovska; Zvonimir Guzović; Brian Vad Mathiesen; Simone Ferrari; Neven Duić; Henrik Lund. 2019. "Editorial: Sustainable development of energy, Water and Environment Systems." Energy 190, no. : 116432.
Reverse electrodialysis in closed loop configurations is a promising membrane technology in the energy conversion and storage fields. One of the main advantages of closed-loop reverse electrodialysis is the possibility of using a wide range of operating concentrations, flow rates and different salts for generating the salinity gradient. In this work, an original exergy analysis of the reverse electrodialysis process was carried out in order to investigate reverse electrodialysis performance in terms of energetic and exergetic efficiency parameters in a wide range of operating conditions. A mono-dimensional model of the reverse electrodialysis process was developed, in which all sources of irreversibility are considered, such as non-ideal membranes permselectivity, ohmic losses and uncontrolled mixing phenomena (salt and water diffusive flux across membranes). For each of them, the influence on the exergy efficiency is quantified and compared. Results also indicate how exergetic and energetic performance are largely dependent on solutions concentration: when high salinity gradient differences are used within the unit, membrane water permeability heavily affects process performance, thus reducing exergy efficiency, though a larger power output can be normally achieved. The more performing flow arrangement for the stack has been found to be the counter-current, though significant differences are observed only for long channels. Finally, performance is improved when short residence time within the stack is attained for the low-concentration solution.
Francesco Giacalone; Pietro Catrini; A. Tamburini; A. Cipollina; A. Piacentino; Giorgio Micale. Exergy analysis of reverse electrodialysis. Energy Conversion and Management 2018, 164, 588 -602.
AMA StyleFrancesco Giacalone, Pietro Catrini, A. Tamburini, A. Cipollina, A. Piacentino, Giorgio Micale. Exergy analysis of reverse electrodialysis. Energy Conversion and Management. 2018; 164 ():588-602.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancesco Giacalone; Pietro Catrini; A. Tamburini; A. Cipollina; A. Piacentino; Giorgio Micale. 2018. "Exergy analysis of reverse electrodialysis." Energy Conversion and Management 164, no. : 588-602.
In this paper an exergy analysis and thermoeconomic cost accounting of a Combined Heat and Power steam cycle integrated with Multi Effect Distillation-Thermal Vapour Compression plant is performed; the goal of the study is to show how these methodologies provide a rational criterion to allocate production costs on electricity and freshwater in such a dual purpose system. After a brief overview on the methodology and a description of reference plant, exergy analysis is carried out to calculate exergy flows and exergy efficiencies at component level. A detailed description of the adopted thermoeconomic model is given. In a first scenario, cost accounting is performed assuming that the concentrated brine is disposed back to sea, thus being its exergy content definitively wasted; furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is carried out in order to assess the changes in the unit cost of electricity and freshwater with several design and operation parameters. In a second scenario, conversely, part of brine exergy is used in a Reverse Electrodialysis unit to produce further electricity. In both cases results show that high unit costs are obtained for the material streams or energy flows which involve major exergy destruction along their production process, particularly freshwater in the former configuration and Reverse Electrodialysis electric output in the latter one.
P. Catrini; A. Cipollina; Giorgio Micale; A. Piacentino; A. Tamburini. Exergy analysis and thermoeconomic cost accounting of a Combined Heat and Power steam cycle integrated with a Multi Effect Distillation-Thermal Vapour Compression desalination plant. Energy Conversion and Management 2017, 149, 950 -965.
AMA StyleP. Catrini, A. Cipollina, Giorgio Micale, A. Piacentino, A. Tamburini. Exergy analysis and thermoeconomic cost accounting of a Combined Heat and Power steam cycle integrated with a Multi Effect Distillation-Thermal Vapour Compression desalination plant. Energy Conversion and Management. 2017; 149 ():950-965.
Chicago/Turabian StyleP. Catrini; A. Cipollina; Giorgio Micale; A. Piacentino; A. Tamburini. 2017. "Exergy analysis and thermoeconomic cost accounting of a Combined Heat and Power steam cycle integrated with a Multi Effect Distillation-Thermal Vapour Compression desalination plant." Energy Conversion and Management 149, no. : 950-965.
The use of renewable energy sources is one of the most relevant goals to be achieved in order to match the climate protection targets. As a case study, the paper shows the current electrical energy production by sources in the Sicilian context. Among the renewable energy sources, the paper investigates the wave energy potential along the Sicilian coasts, because of the favorable climate around the island. A point absorber is present in order to exploit this source. Two scenarios are presented, with two different levels of energy production.
Vincenzo Franzitta; Pietro Catrini; Domenico Curto. Wave Energy Assessment along Sicilian Coastline, Based on DEIM Point Absorber. Energies 2017, 10, 376 .
AMA StyleVincenzo Franzitta, Pietro Catrini, Domenico Curto. Wave Energy Assessment along Sicilian Coastline, Based on DEIM Point Absorber. Energies. 2017; 10 (3):376.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVincenzo Franzitta; Pietro Catrini; Domenico Curto. 2017. "Wave Energy Assessment along Sicilian Coastline, Based on DEIM Point Absorber." Energies 10, no. 3: 376.
Cogeneration and trigeneration plants are widely recognized as promising technologies for increasing energy efficiency in buildings. However, their overall potential is scarcely exploited, due to the difficulties in achieving economic viability and the risk of investment related to uncertainties in future energy loads and prices. Several stochastic optimization models have been proposed in the literature to account for uncertainties, but these instruments share in a common reliance on user-defined probability functions for each stochastic parameter. Being such functions hard to predict, in this paper an analysis of the influence of erroneous estimation of the uncertain energy loads and prices on the optimal plant design and operation is proposed. With reference to a hotel building, a number of realistic scenarios is developed, exploring all the most frequent errors occurring in the estimation of energy loads and prices. Then, profit-oriented optimizations are performed for the examined scenarios, by means of a deterministic mixed integer linear programming algorithm. From a comparison between the achieved results, it emerges that: (i) the plant profitability is prevalently influenced by the average “spark-spread” (i.e., ratio between electricity and fuel price) and, secondarily, from the shape of the daily price profiles; (ii) the “optimal sizes” of the main components are scarcely influenced by the daily load profiles, while they are more strictly related with the average “power to heat” and “power to cooling” ratios of the building.
Antonio Piacentino; Roberto Gallea; Pietro Catrini; Fabio Cardona; Domenico Panno. On the Reliability of Optimization Results for Trigeneration Systems in Buildings, in the Presence of Price Uncertainties and Erroneous Load Estimation. Energies 2016, 9, 1049 .
AMA StyleAntonio Piacentino, Roberto Gallea, Pietro Catrini, Fabio Cardona, Domenico Panno. On the Reliability of Optimization Results for Trigeneration Systems in Buildings, in the Presence of Price Uncertainties and Erroneous Load Estimation. Energies. 2016; 9 (12):1049.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonio Piacentino; Roberto Gallea; Pietro Catrini; Fabio Cardona; Domenico Panno. 2016. "On the Reliability of Optimization Results for Trigeneration Systems in Buildings, in the Presence of Price Uncertainties and Erroneous Load Estimation." Energies 9, no. 12: 1049.
Thermoeconomic diagnosis of refrigeration systems is a pioneering approach to the diagnosis of malfunctions, which has been recently proven to achieve good performances for the detection of specific faults. Being an exergy-based diagnostic technique, its performance is influenced by the trends of exergy functions in the “design” and “abnormal” conditions. In this paper the sensitivity of performance of thermoeconomic diagnosis in detecting a fouled direct expansion coil and quantifying the additional consumption it induces is investigated; this fault is critical due to the simultaneous air cooling and dehumidification occurring in the coil, that induce variations in both the chemical and thermal fractions of air exergy. The examined parameters are the temperature and humidity of inlet air, the humidity of reference state and the sensible/latent heat ratio (varied by considering different coil depths). The exergy analysis reveals that due to the more intense dehumidification occurring in presence of fouling, the exergy efficiency of the evaporator coil eventually increases. Once the diagnostic technique is based only on the thermal fraction of air exergy, the results suggest that the performance of the technique increases when inlet air has a lower absolute humidity, as evident from the “optimal performance” regions identified on a psychrometric chart.
Antonio Piacentino; Pietro Catrini. Assessing the Robustness of Thermoeconomic Diagnosis of Fouled Evaporators: Sensitivity Analysis of the Exergetic Performance of Direct Expansion Coils. Entropy 2016, 18, 85 .
AMA StyleAntonio Piacentino, Pietro Catrini. Assessing the Robustness of Thermoeconomic Diagnosis of Fouled Evaporators: Sensitivity Analysis of the Exergetic Performance of Direct Expansion Coils. Entropy. 2016; 18 (3):85.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonio Piacentino; Pietro Catrini. 2016. "Assessing the Robustness of Thermoeconomic Diagnosis of Fouled Evaporators: Sensitivity Analysis of the Exergetic Performance of Direct Expansion Coils." Entropy 18, no. 3: 85.
The large potential for energy saving by cogeneration and trigeneration in the building sector is scarcely exploited due to a number of obstacles in making the investments attractive. The analyst often encounters difficulties in identifying optimal design and operation strategies, since a number of factors, either endogenous (i.e. related with the energy load profiles) and exogenous (i.e. related with external conditions like energy prices and support mechanisms), influence the economic viability.In this paper a decision tool is adopted, which represents an upgrade of a software analyzed in previous papers; the tool simultaneously optimizes the plant lay-out, the sizes of the main components and their operation strategy. For a specific building in the hotel sector, a preliminary analysis is performed to identify the most promising plant configuration, in terms of type of cogeneration unit (either microturbine or diesel oil/natural gas-fueled reciprocate engine) and absorption chiller. Then, sensitivity analyses are carried out to investigate the effects induced by: (a) tax exemption for the fuel consumed in "efficient cogeneration" mode, (b) dynamic behavior of the prime mover and consequent capability to rapidly adjust its load level to follow the energy loads
A. Piacentino; R. Gallea; F. Cardona; V. Lo Brano; G. Ciulla; Pietro Catrini. Optimization of trigeneration systems by Mathematical Programming: Influence of plant scheme and boundary conditions. Energy Conversion and Management 2015, 104, 100 -114.
AMA StyleA. Piacentino, R. Gallea, F. Cardona, V. Lo Brano, G. Ciulla, Pietro Catrini. Optimization of trigeneration systems by Mathematical Programming: Influence of plant scheme and boundary conditions. Energy Conversion and Management. 2015; 104 ():100-114.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA. Piacentino; R. Gallea; F. Cardona; V. Lo Brano; G. Ciulla; Pietro Catrini. 2015. "Optimization of trigeneration systems by Mathematical Programming: Influence of plant scheme and boundary conditions." Energy Conversion and Management 104, no. : 100-114.