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Net Zero Energy Community (NZEC) Library

NZEC

A open source Modelica library for the NZEC is built to facilitate the design and operation of a real NZEC. Using this library, a virtual testbed is built based on Historic Green Village, a real-world NZEC on Anna Maria Island, Florida. The testbed consists of a framework and system models for different subsystems, including solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, ground-coupled source heat pumps, buildings, the electric grid, and so on. The framework streamlines the process for simulation and optimization with Python; the models include both physics-based ones and data-driven ones, designed for different data availability and application contexts. The models are validated against the measurement data.

Software Download

The development site of this software is at: .

Training Workshop

  • J. Wang, S. Huang, W. Zuo 2020 "", the free workshop on "Cyber-physical System Modeling using Modelica for Smart and Sustainable Communities" on September 18.

Release Notes

  • 07/28/2020: SCC-NZEC library V1.1 .
    • Added new package OccupantBehavior which enables occupancy-dependent schedule generation for thermostat setpoints, etc.
  • 03/27/2019: SCC-NZEC library V1.0 .
    • First release of the library. It contains component and system models supporting community-scale building load, domestic hot water, heat pump system and power source modeling.

Acknowledgment

The NZEC library was the outcome of the project "BIGDATA: Collaborative Research: IA: Big Data Analytics for Optimized Planning of Smart, Sustainable, and Connected Communities" sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Award No. IIS-1802017). 

The development of the library was also supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, under contract no. DE-AC05-76RL01830.

Related Publications

  • S. Huang, J. Wang, Y. Fu, W. Zuo, K. Hinkelman, R. M. Kaiser, D. He, D. Vrabie 2021. “”. Sustainable Cities and Society, 75, pp. 103255.
  • J. Wang, S. Huang, W. Zuo, D. Vrabie 2021. “.” Energy and Buildings, 252, pp. 111399.
  • J. Wang, K. Garifi, K. Baker, W. Zuo, Y. Zhang, S. Huang, D. Vrabie 2020. "" Energies, 13, pp 5683.
  • J. Wang, W. Zuo, S. Huang, D. Vrabie 2020. “.” American Modelica Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, September 22-24.
  • D. He, S. Huang, W. Zuo, R. Kaiser 2016. “” Proceedings of the 3rd ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Built Environments (BuildSys 2016), pp. 211-212, November 16-17, Palo Alto, CA.
  • D. He, S. Huang, W. Zuo, R. Kaiser 2016. “” Proceedings of the ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016: Building Performance Modeling Conference, pp. 125-132, August 8-12, Salt Lake City, UT.

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