Battery system selection in DC microgrids for residential applications: an Australian case study

Abstract

Due to the intermittency of renewable energy sources (RESs), prosumers-owned DC microgrids (MGs) in a residential house require a battery energy storage system (ESS) to achieve significant energy efficiency improvements. This study investigates the durability and economical gain of different battery ESSs in a DC MG integrated with RESs, taking an Australian household as a case study. These batteries used in the ESS can be lead-acid, lithium-ion, and zinc-bromine chemistries. A model of a DC MG for a residential house has been established to simulate and evaluate performances of different types of batteries as an ESS in the DC MG. The simulation results show that lithium-ion phosphonate (LFP) batteries have more than 20 years of lifetime. Thus, economically only LFP batteries provide a positive return on investment (ROI) values compared to other types of batteries