Micropower system modeling with Homer
The HOMER Micropower Optimization Model is a computer model developed by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to assist in the design of micropower systems and to facilitate the comparison of power generation technologies across a wide range of applications. HOMER models a power system's physical behavior and its life-cycle cost, which is the total cost of installing and operating the system over its life span. HOMER allows the modeler to compare many different design options based on their technical and economic merits. It also assists in understanding and quantifying the effects of uncertainty or changes in the inputs.
A micropower system is a system that generates electricity, and possibly heat, to serve a nearby load. Such a system may employ any combination of electrical generation and storage technologies and may be grid-connected or autonomous, meaning separate from any transmission grid. Some examples of micropower systems are a solar-battery system serving a remote load, a wind-diesel system serving an isolated village, and a grid-connected natural gas microturbine providing electricity and heat to a factory. Power plants that supply electricity to a high-voltage transmission system do not qualify as micropower systems because they are not dedicated to a particular load. HOMER can model grid-connected and off-grid micropower systems serving electric and thermal loads, and comprising any combination of photovoltaic (PV) modules, wind turbines, small hydro, biomass power, reciprocating engine generators, microturbines, fuel cells, batteries, and hydrogen storage.
The analysis and design of micropower systems can be challenging, due to the large number of design options and the uncertainty in key parameters, such as load size and future fuel price. Renewable power sources add further complexity because their power output may be intermittent, seasonal, and nondispatchable, and the availability of renewable resources may be uncertain. HOMER was designed to overcome these challenges.
HOMER performs three principal tasks: simulation, optimization, and sensitivity analysis. In the simulation process, HOMER models the performance of a particular micropower system configuration each hour of the year to determine its technical feasibility and life-cycle cost. In the optimization process, HOMER simulates many different system configurations in search of the one that satisfies the technical constraints at the lowest life-cycle cost. In the sensitivity analysis process, HOMER performs multiple optimizations under a range of input assumptions to gauge the effects of uncertainty or changes in the model inputs. Optimization determines the optimal value of the variables over which the system designer has control such as the mix of components that make up the system and the size or quantity of each. Sensitivity analysis helps assess the effects of uncertainty or changes in the variables over which the designer has no control, such as the average wind speed or the future fuel price.
Figure 15.1 illustrates the relationship between simulation, optimization, and sensitivity analysis. The optimization oval encloses the simulation oval to represent the fact that a single optimization consists of multiple simulations. Similarly, the sensitivity analysis oval encompasses the optimization oval because a single sensitivity analysis consists of multiple optimizations.
Customer comments
No comments were found for Micropower system modeling with Homer. Be the first to comment!