Graillet, O.; Genon-Catalot, D.; Lucas de Peslouan, P.-O.; Bernard, F.; Alicalapa, F.; Lemaitre, L.; Chabriat, J.-P. Optimizing Energy Consumption: A Case Study of LVDC Nanogrid Implementation in Tertiary Buildings on La Réunion Island. Energies2024, 17, 1247.
Graillet, O.; Genon-Catalot, D.; Lucas de Peslouan, P.-O.; Bernard, F.; Alicalapa, F.; Lemaitre, L.; Chabriat, J.-P. Optimizing Energy Consumption: A Case Study of LVDC Nanogrid Implementation in Tertiary Buildings on La Réunion Island. Energies 2024, 17, 1247.
Graillet, O.; Genon-Catalot, D.; Lucas de Peslouan, P.-O.; Bernard, F.; Alicalapa, F.; Lemaitre, L.; Chabriat, J.-P. Optimizing Energy Consumption: A Case Study of LVDC Nanogrid Implementation in Tertiary Buildings on La Réunion Island. Energies2024, 17, 1247.
Graillet, O.; Genon-Catalot, D.; Lucas de Peslouan, P.-O.; Bernard, F.; Alicalapa, F.; Lemaitre, L.; Chabriat, J.-P. Optimizing Energy Consumption: A Case Study of LVDC Nanogrid Implementation in Tertiary Buildings on La Réunion Island. Energies 2024, 17, 1247.
Abstract
In the context of the French tertiary decree, it is crucial to reduce the energy consumption of buildings by first addressing the design of the electrical architecture. Implementing Direct Current (DC) nanogrids in buildings could offers a promising advantage for energy efficiency, significantly impacting overall energy consumption and sustainability goals. For an insulated area with a subtropical climate, such as La Réunion island, DC nanogrids could also facilitate the insertion of local renewable energy sources, especially solar energy. This article presents the deployment and efficiency evaluation of an end-to-end Low Voltage Direct Current (LVDC) nanogrid, from conception to real-world installation within a company. The nanogrid consists of a photovoltaic power plant, a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) battery, and DC end-use equipment such as LED lighting and DC fans for two individual offices. An innovation is provided for the power supply and energy management of terminal equipment using the Power Over Ethernet (PoE) standard IEEE 802.3bt. The efficiency of the nanogrid is measured to be 40% higher than the efficiency of an installation powered by PV and distributed at 230 VAC. These results are obtained under certain deployment conditions, which are discussed in this article, in order to enhance the energy efficiency of buildings by using 48VDC. The nanogrid hardware and software infrastructure, the methodology employed for efficiency quantification and the measurement results are described in the paper.
Keywords
lvdc nanogrid; energy efficiency; power over ethernet; solar energy; line losses; building
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.