Thermo-economic assessment of end user value in home and community scale renewable energy systems

This study employs thermo-economic analysis to establish a homeowner-centric valuation of renewable energy technologies. The evaluation methodology is illustrated using several classes of renewable energy technology, including, ground-source heat pumps, wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and solar thermal water heaters. Energy systems employing each of these technologies are examined when servicing the typical domestic energy loads of a single-detached home. Through the analysis, it is learned that single-home photovoltaic systems produce energy at an annual cost approximately four times that of grid electricity, while wind energy systems deliver this energy at approximately twice the cost of grid electricity. Further, single-detached homeowners currently heating with fuel oil and/or grid electricity may expect to save between $1000 and $1800 per year when switching to a ground-source heat pump system; whereas those considering the implementation of a solar thermal water heater can expect to spend an additional $245 per year for hot water. Investigation of larger scale renewable systems examined the performance of wind turbines and ground-source heat pumps when serving groups of single-detached homes; wind turbines were found to exhibit significant economies of scale.