RESEARCH AREAS

RESEARCH AREAS 2017-12-22T00:58:02+00:00

Sustainable Building

In Smart Community Aruba affordable and sustainable building solutions will be tested, which will lower the energy usage of buildings in Caribbean climate conditions. Most interesting are innovative solutions that can keep a house cool, by efficiently insulating it from the hotter surroundings. This research area is focussed on the effectiveness and affordability of new building materials.

Renewable Energy Integration

Due to its harsh climate conditions (high solar irradiance and salt spray), Aruba is a very suitable test environment for sustainable energy technologies. The research in this area is especially targeted to the influence of the tropical climate on the performance and reliability of components. Another interesting topic is distribution grid power quality in the case of high penetration of renewable energy, from both solar and wind. The focus will be on what level op penetration is possible without additional investments in cables, power electronics or energy storage. The electricity grid in Smart Community has been prepared with special features to support this research.

Demand Response

A smart grid will be installed in Smart Community Aruba, comprising of 20 houses and a visitor centre. First a baseline assessment will be done regarding the energy usage and flexibility of residential appliances. Hereafter, the sensors and interfaces will be used to investigate the effects of distributed energy generation in a small area (high penetration) on the power quality and distribution grid. Different mitigation measures that can be tested include active demand side management (using TNO’s PowerMatcher technology) and local energy storage in the neighborhood. The goal of this research is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of a renewable energy microgrid in Smart Community that can operate independently of the main distribution grid (a virtual island on an island).

Electric Mobility

Because of the short driving distances on Aruba, the island is very suitable for electric transport. This research area will help the transition to electric mobility. Smart Community will be equipped with various chargers, both residential low level and community fast chargers. In this research area, both the role of electric vehicles (as demand side management and energy storage assets), the economic viability of such a transition and the performance of electric vehicles in the Aruban climate and traffic conditions.

Water Management

Because of the short driving distances on Aruba, the island is very suitable for electric transport. This research area will help the transition to electric mobility. Smart Community will be equipped with various chargers, both residential low level and community fast chargers. In this research area, both the role of electric vehicles (as demand side management and energy storage assets), the economic viability of such a transition and the performance of electric vehicles in the Aruban climate and traffic conditions.

Human Factor

Innovations are only succesful if they are adopted by users. Moreover, some innovations require behavioral change to be effective. This is certainly true for the renewable energy transition that Aruba is in right now. This research area supports the other areas by investigating the human factors related an innovation and the beliefs and behavior of its users. An important goal is to develop more conscience about the use of energy, water and waste.

Food Supply

In a circular economy, it is crucial to make the best use of available natural resources and therefore grow food locally as much as possible. This research area focusses on innovative agriculture methods, including greenhouses, which can be used by islands in the Caribbean climate to reduce their dependency on food imports.

Waste Management

In a circular economy, waste becomes a resource and should be re-used as much as possible. This can be done by either create new products from the waste, use it as input for a process (like fertilizer for agriculture) or convert it into energy. Research is needed into the viability of several technologies in local conditions, like separation of organic waste and integration of small scale waste-to-energy (biogas) in microgrids.