A framework for the optimization of integrated energy systems

This paper introduces an exergy-based objective function for the steady-state optimization and control of integrated energy systems (IESs). The use of exergy destruction as the metric for minimization enables the objective function to be scalable with respect to (1) subsystem configuration and (2) subsystem capacity, thereby rendering the approach generalizable to a wide class of IESs. More specifically, exergy destruction can be used to characterize irreversibilities across multiple energy domains (chemical, electrical, mechanical, thermal) which makes it very suitable for the types of energy subsystems which comprise IESs. The approach presented in this paper couples the exergy-based optimization with a feedforward control framework which uses static models to estimate the control inputs required to achieve the optimal setpoints. It is shown that the physical significance obtained using an objective function derived from first-principles makes the objective modular and therefore easily generalizable to complex IESs.