Joseph DeCarolis, a researcher in the Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering department at N.C. State, has developed a computer-based energy optimization model designed to streamline energy technologies and systems.
Unlike other existing models, Tools for Energy Model Optimization and Analysis (Temoa) is designed to easily share information.
“A lot of the models that are out there are commercial models so you have to pay a lot of money–anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 minimum,” DeCarolis said. “Modelers that are doing the work of inputting the data, when they develop the data they tend to not share it.”
Kevin Hunter, a doctoral student in civil engineering, also worked on the project. Hunter said energy models are typically divided into two parts: the equations and the data. Scientists or mathematicians work out the equations, while research groups create data.
Each can get complicated. Hunter said the energy optimization model has 13 classes of algebraic equations that work out to have millions of variables. The data from research groups often inform environmental policy decisions and therefore need to be checked by other groups of researchers.
Previously, it was difficult to combine the equations and data because researchers and mathematicians didn’t communicate. DeCarolis said that most mathematicians don’t show the data they use for existing equations, so it’s hard to double-check their work.
“Together, the data and the equations help produce an analysis,” Hunter said. “If either of those are closed such as no access to data or equations, it’s almost impossible to replicate these results.”
The new open source model fixes that by allowing scientists and research groups to share their data with anyone, thus allowing anyone to recreate the results.
“What [Temoa] means is if Kevin and I write a paper and I doubt the results we got, you can actually download the source code in the model data used to produce the analysis and replicate it,” DeCarolis said. “Replicating results is an important aspect of science, and with energy models it is typically neglected, and we are trying to change that.”
Temoa is an energy economy optimization (EEO) model. An EEO model takes complex energy inputs such as coal and tries to find the most efficient process to convert it into usable energy.
“It’s an open-source, computer-based energy system model. It tries to represent all the technologies within the energy system that range from extraction of raw resources like coal–to refineries and power plants–to devices like heating and cooling systems,” DeCarolis said.
Because the model can project energy demands that span several decades, it is designed to deal with the uncertainty due to changes in consumer preferences.
DeCarolis recently introduced the model in the Energy Economics journal. According to DeCarolis, Temoa can potentially cut costs and reduce greenhouse emissions by making the energy systems work together efficiently. The project is currently funded by the National Science Foundation.
DeCarolis has high hopes for the future applications of the model.
“For future work, we would like to use this to do U.S. policy analysis. That’s the direction we are moving now that we have the model,” DeCarolis said.
