A distributed energy system is one in which energy conversion units are located close to energy consumers, and large power generators are replaced by smaller ones, meaning that a single building or neighbourhood of consumers can be self-sufficient in electricity, heat, and cooling. Distributed energy systems are well suited to countries with large geographical areas and small populations.
1. Energy is one of the main drivers of progress in modern society, which is dependent on energy in all aspects such as households, industry, transportation, and agriculture. And with the increase in population, economic development and other factors, the global energy demand is increasing, nearly 70% of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels, fossil fuel reserves are facing depletion. The massive use of fossil fuels also causes greenhouse gas emissions, which have a serious impact on the global climate.
2. Traditional energy supply is mainly a centralized approach, for example, power plants usually provide electricity to large numbers of people and need to transmit power over long distances, using complex transmission and distribution systems, which means that centralized energy supply systems are expensive to develop and maintain, and there are still some areas that do not have access to electricity, which requires a distributed energy system to meet the demand for energy.
Depending on the needs, distributed energy systems can use a variety of energy technologies, which can be categorized into renewable and non-renewable energy systems based on the type of energy.
1. Renewable energy technologies: wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, water energy and so on. Examples include wind power, solar photovoltaic and thermal energy.
2. non-renewable energy technologies: internal combustion engines, microturbines, gas turbines, etc.
Advantages and disadvantages of distributed energy systems
1.1 Reduce the cost of transmission and distribution, distributed energy system is close to the energy consumers, do not need long distance for transmission and complex control system, can greatly reduce the cost of transmission and distribution.
1.2 Better able to cope with natural disasters, in the event of natural disasters, will affect the centralized energy supply system power supply, distributed energy system can be self-sufficient, the power will be delivered directly to the power equipment, and can also store a certain amount of power for later.
1.3 Improve energy security, distributed energy systems can improve energy security, when the centralized energy system has a fault, it will not affect the branch energy system.
1.4 Provide clean energy for rural or remote areas, remote areas are unable to transmit electricity, distributed energy systems can utilize solar energy systems plus storage batteries to power homes during the day when it is sunny, and when there is surplus energy, it will be stored in batteries for use when there is no electricity. Solar power can also be utilized in combination with wind power giving to provide a reliable energy supply to remote areas.
1.5 Supplementing grid supply to reduce peak load demand, distributed energy systems usually use a microgrid-type energy supply system, which can deliver power from distributed energy systems to the grid to reduce peak load demand when grid supply is in high demand. (Microgrids are devices that can either supply electricity to households or be delivered to the grid)
2.1 Instability of power quality, distributed energy systems are intermittent renewable energy sources due to the use of solar and wind energy and have a large number of electronic interfaces, which can cause voltage dips and voltage interruptions.
2.2 Backup energy storage systems are needed to maintain the stability of power supply, which increases the cost of distributed energy systems.
Application of distributed energy system
1. solar power system, where the energy fuel is renewable and the output is electricity, usually installed on rooftop solar panels to generate electricity for residential, commercial and industrial use.
2. Solar hot water, the energy fuel is renewable and the output is space heating, usually air or water heated by solar energy.
3. Wind Turbines, energy fuelled by renewable, output is electricity, micro wind turbines mounted on the roof of a building are used to generate electricity or are used to generate electricity for large scale onshore and offshore.
4. Biomass, where the energy fuel is renewable and the output is electricity and space heating, where wood, energy materials and waste fuels are burned to produce water and space heating.
5. Hydroelectricity, energy fuel is renewable, output is electricity, hydroelectric system converts energy from flowing water into electricity.
Distributed energy system is an efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional energy sources, which can reduce the use of fossil fuels and meet the growing demand for energy, and is a good choice for sustainable development.
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