Optimization of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell hybrid power system for residential buildings

A real-time optimization (RTO) strategy to find the optimal value of the fuel flow rate of a Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System (FCHPS) for residential buildings is proposed here, which is shortly named as Air_LFW-RTO strategy due to the use of Load-Following (LFW) technique to control the air flow. The optimization strategy uses the Global Extremum Seeking (GES) algorithm to adjust the fuel flow rate and harvest the FC power by using two GES control schemes. The performance obtained with Air LFW-RTO strategy proposed herein is shown compared to Static Feed-Forward RTO strategy, where both fueling rates are controlled by the FC current. The performance have been estimated for 8 kW residential building based on following indicators: the fuel consumption efficiency, the FC system efficiency, and the fuel economy during a variable load demand. The fuel consumption efficiency and the energy efficiency could increase with more than 11.47 W/lpm and 2.13% for a FCHPS under 8 kW constant load. The fuel economy could be up to 263 lpm for a FCHPS under variable load cycle using the Air LFW-RTO strategy.