CPC G05B 19/042 (2013.01) [F01K 23/02 (2013.01); G06Q 50/06 (2013.01); G05B 2219/2639 (2013.01); Y02E 20/30 (2013.01); Y02E 40/70 (2013.01); Y02E 70/30 (2013.01); Y04S 10/14 (2013.01); Y04S 50/16 (2018.05)] | 19 Claims |
1. A system for generating thermal energy from a plurality of different energy sources, the system comprising:
a combustion-powered thermal energy source having at least one combustion heater, each combustion heater having a combustion-based thermal output capacity;
an electric-powered thermal energy source having at least one electric heater, each electric heater having an electric-based thermal output capacity; and
a controller configured to calculate a cost of thermal energy and dispatch either or both of the combustion-powered thermal energy source and the electric-powered thermal energy source, the cost of thermal energy is calculated based upon (a) at least one of: a forecast of future energy prices, an electricity demand model; a carbon cost model; and a marginal cost of utilizing the combustion-powered thermal energy source or the electric-powered thermal energy source and (b) a system storage capacity,
wherein the system storage capacity is determined based on a storage capacity of a thermal energy store and information measured by an output fluid temperature sensor, an output fluid pressure sensor, and a building envelope temperature sensor.
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