A strategic optimization model for energy systems planning

• Decision making support for building managers on investments and contract selection.
• Strategic decisions and embedded operational decisions in the same model.
• Aging and renovation features, along with emissions, efficiency, and subsidies policies.
• Energy balance for all energy types used by the building.
• The model has been tested and calibrated on real buildings.

Strategic decisions regarding energy systems deployment at the building level are becoming a great challenge in the global market. On the one hand, competition policies are allowing the arriving of new actors to the market, resulting in sophisticated pricing options. On the other hand, efficiency and sustainability policies and regulations aim at encouraging building managers and operators to adopt an active role in the energy market. In this paper, an optimization model which deals with such strategic decisions is presented. The model integrates features such as scaled operational performance in the short term, different technologies and market options, and different energy types, as well as technologies’ aging and renovation. This integration results on a holistic model, which constitutes the main contribution of the paper, suitable to be implemented in decision support systems (DSS).