Neutral Electricity Houses with a Case Study in the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá-Colombia

Abstract

This article reviews recent development to increase access to electricity and the implementation of neutral electricity homes (autonomous homes not connected to the electricity grid) in different scenarios. In this way, the focus of this research is on the different efforts to create homes with neutral electricity, considering their challenges at the macro and micro levels. In addition, it is shown possible research directions for technologies for neutral electricity homes. For this, a case of a possible house with neutral electricity in Colombia is described along with some initial results of simulations using photovoltaic solar energy, a new battery based on sea salt (the Sea-Salt battery) and a fuel cell based on glycerol (the Glycerol Fuel Cell) as a backup system. The simulations use the BEopt and DstorageS software. This analysis is performed using measured data on electricity consumption in a home located in the Bogotá-Colombia metropolitan area. Preliminary results show that a house in Colombia may be disconnected from the grid, having a 4 kW solar PV energy with a 10 kWh sea salt battery and a 2 kW glycerol fuel cell operating autonomously throughout the year 2019.