Photovoltaic-driven liquid air energy storage system for combined cooling, heating and power towards zero-energy buildings.

• A new concept of photovoltaic-driven liquid air energy storage (PV-LAES) is explored. • A dynamic PV-LAES model is built to match building energy requirements. • Poly-generation of combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) is achieved. • Technical, economic and environmental merits of the PV-LAES are clarified. • The multi-functional PV-LAES provides solutions for future zero-energy buildings. Renewable energy and energy storage technologies are expected to promote the goal of net zero-energy buildings. This article presents a new sustainable energy solution using photovoltaic-driven liquid air energy storage (PV-LAES) for achieving the combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) supply. Liquid air is used to store and generate power to smooth the supply-load fluctuations, and the residual heat from hot oil in the LAES system is used for the cooling and heating supplements. Taking an actual building as the research object, the dynamic PV-LAES system model is built to optimize the power/cooling/heating supplies, and then evaluate the economic and environmental performances. In a single year, the PV-LAES system can produce 523.93 MWh of electricity, 57.75 GJ of cold energy, and 119.24 GJ of heat energy, resulting in an improved round-trip efficiency of 67.05 % and a carbon emission reduction of 368.35 tons. The dynamic payback period is 6.45 years and the cumulative net present value (NPV) reaches 515 k$ throughout the life cycle. Overall, this article provides a new solution using the PV-LAES system to obtain high energy efficiency, good economic benefits, and high environmental performance for future zero-energy buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]