Design optimization of energy flexibility for residential buildings

Due to its progressive aging, the need to plan a long-term renovation strategy for the European building stock is increasingly urgent. Furthermore, the growing penetration of discontinuous and non-programmable renewable energy sources asks for an adaptable demand to the supply variability. Thus, the realization of new buildings which are both efficient and energy flexible can be a way to increase reliability and security of the current energy grid. Purpose of this work is to characterize the effect of different buildings renovation strategies on their energy flexibility performance obtained through electric heating energy demand management. The energy flexibility is quantified by means of a single indicator: the Flexibility Performance Indicator. As the Energy Performance Certificate, it is calculated with a standardized procedure. In this work, starting from a low energy performance reference building, the energy flexibility performance obtainable with different energy efficiency interventions is assessed. Eventually the extent of the requested investment combined with the potential electricity costs saving derived from it is evaluated.