A flexible design methodology to solve energy management problems

This paper investigates the design and simplification of energy management problems (EMP) through a dedicated functional model for energy systems. The proposed framework extends the concept of energy-hub by adding a layer of information based on standardized communication ports. As a result, the EMP can be expressed directly from the model as a nonlinear multi-objective optimization problem. Taking advantage of the modularity of the approach, methods to substantially reduce EMP complexity are proposed: one manages the energy demands based on a discrete set of precomputed local regulators (configurations); another decomposes the problem using an appropriate set of sub-problems. The framework and the methodology are shown to be flexible and efficient through the case study of a hybrid serial refrigerating truck.