Energy system technology
The energy system technology solves an energy supply task under complex technical, economic and ecological boundary conditions. Energy system technology differs from the even more comprehensive field of energy technology in that it does not consider the individual generation and consumption components, but rather the composition of the components to form a functioning overall system . The following items of energy system technology can be described:
Energy system technology
- the design of energy supply systems, ie number, mix and spatial distribution of different forms of generation
- the design of energy transmission networks
- the design of controller structures for generation, transmission and consumption during operation
- the modeling of the natural environment, which acts as parametric influencing variables on the technical system. In particular, this modeling includes the short, medium and long-term forecast of these variables.
- the measurement technology for technical and environmental parameters
- Actuators at the interfaces between the system components
- Energy storage
- Communication technology that transports measurement, control and business variables
- Business and economic evaluation of drafts for energy supply problems
- Design and analysis of market control instruments that are used to transform energy supply systems, ie legal and regulatory specifications.
The energy supply means the supply of energy in the following forms:
- thermal energy
- mechanical energy
- electrical power
- Energy in chemical or physico-chemical bonds
- Energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation
Energy transmission networks are:
- Heating networks
- electrical networks
- material networks
Actuators and system interfaces
There are a large number of actuators at the interfaces between the system components. On the one hand there are interfaces between the components in networks of one form of energy, on the other hand there are also interfaces between the networks of different forms of energy.
Interfaces between the components in electrical networks :
- electrical conductors
- electronic and mechanical switches
- Converter between networks of different frequencies including AC / DC conversion
- Transformers
- Resistors, inductors, current limiters
Interfaces between electricity and heat :
- Converter from electricity to heat
- Converter from heat to electricity
Interfaces between electricity and mechanical energy :
- electric motors (including flywheels)
- electric generators
- Compressors
Interfaces between electrical current and chemical and physico-chemical bonds :
- Electrolysers
- Fuel cells
- electrochemical batteries
- chemical reactors for converting high-energy compounds
- biochemical reactors
Outside the field of energy system technology are the converters that convert "primary" energy.
Energy storage as a key element
Energy storage systems are elements that are of crucial importance for the regulation of the overall system and that make controllability possible in the first place under certain boundary conditions. In principle, storage in all forms of energy is considered:
- thermal energy
- mechanical energy
- Energy in electric or magnetic fields
- Energy in chemical or physico-chemical bonds
- Energy in nuclear physical bonds
Web links
- Fraunhofer IWES Annual Report 2012/2013, pages 14–18 (PDF, 7.3 MB)