Urban Energy Hubs Economic Optimization and Environmental Comparison in Italy and Vietnam

This paper aims to perform the minimization of the yearly energy supply cost from the main electricity and natural gas grids related to an energy district, considering the installation of different equipments. The case study refers to energy consumption of a medium density urban district and involves the exploitation of different energy sources and devices (photovoltaic systems, electrical energy storage, heat pumps and cogenerators). The analysis of the district energy supply is accomplished through an energy hub model. After a cost analysis related to the considered energy systems, a MILP algorithm was used for the optimization of a cost function and the simulation of various scenarios. Moreover, a study about CO2 emissions is reported. The same study is then repeated considering the Vietnamese economic and environmental context, keeping constant the energy losses and performance of the equipment, in order to compare these countries and provide useful conclusions about the improvement of energy supply systems in developed and developing countries.