Optimal operation of a multi-energy hub for minimal energy usage cost

This paper proposes a management model of a Multi-Energy Hub (MEH), which is an essential part in the Energy Network. Energy Hub (EH) is a collection of various energy conversion devices and energy storage elements. It can be regarded as the transmission node in the Energy Internet. In this paper, an EH containing Combined heat and power (CHP), electrical heat pump, electricity storage system and heat storage system is studied. In this paper, a new EH model is proposed which is different from the modelling method based on the original EH concept. The proposed method focuses on the practical application field. The optimal model and management of the proposed EH components focusing on the minimal energy usage cost is modelled as a mixed-integer non-linear optimization problem calculated by General Algebraic Modelling System (GAMS) software. Also, in order to be closer to the practical application, the electricity storage system optimization has been considered. The battery life loss is equivalent to the daily energy storage loss cost. The simulation results show that the proposed model is more economical than the traditional model and the maximum depth of discharge (DOD) has less influence on the battery life. However, value of maximum DOD effects the operational cost.