Effect of power interchange operation of multiple household gas engine cogeneration systems on energy-saving

The effect of power interchange operation of multiple household gas engine cogeneration systems (H-GCGS) on the energy-saving is investigated using an optimization approach based on the mixed-integer linear programming. In this power interchange operation, electricity generated by H-GCGS is shared among households in a housing complex without transmitting to a commercial electric power system so that the operating time of these systems may increase. This paper numerically analyzes optimal operational strategies for 20 households and three types of household energy supply configurations: the power interchange operation of the H-GCGSs (IC), stand-alone operation of each H-GCGSs (SA), and conventional energy supply system without the H-GCGSs. A numerical result clarifies the effectiveness of the power interchange operation from the energy-saving viewpoint and a dominant parameter for evaluating the energy-saving effect.