ABSTRACT
This work is motivated by the need in overcoming the electricity crisis in Gaza, which is initiated due to political reasons and the spread of COVID-19. Building quarantine centers is one of the most important means used in combating the COVID-19, but connecting these centers to the electricity distribution network at the appropriate time is not always possible and increases the burden on the local utility company. This article proposed a hybrid off-grid energy system (HES) to effectively energize the quarantine COVID-19 center in Gaza economically and environmentally. To achieve this aim, the estimated load profile of the quarantine center is fed to the HOMER-Pro program. In addition, the various systems components are introduced to the program, then modeled, and optimized. The developed approach was tested using a real case study considering realistic input data. HOMER-Pro program is used to simulate and optimize the system design. The results revealed the potential of the HES to provide environment-friendly, cost-effective, and affordable electricity for the studied quarantine center, as compared to just the diesel generators system. For the considered case study, it is found that the PV-wind-diesel generators HES can cover the connected load with the lowest cost ($ 0.348/kWh) in comparison to other possible HES structures. Taking into consideration the price of harmful emissions, the wining system shows a reduction of 54.89% of the cost of energy (CoE) compared to other systems. For the considered case study, it is found that a combination of 150 kW PV, 200 kW wind, and two diesel generators with capacities of 500 and 250 kW can hold 100% of the electrical load required to keep the quarantine COVID-19 center in operation. The initial capital cost of this HES is $510,576 where the share of wind energy, solar PV, inverter, and diesel-electric generators are $320,000, $83,076, $25,000, and $82,500, respectively. The replacemen cost ($55,918) is due to diesel generators. The total operation and maintainance cost (O&M) is $268,737, that is, 25.6% for wind turbines, 1.2% for inverters, and 70.7% for diesel electric generators. The PV/wind/diesel generators HES generate 1,659,038 kWh of electricity. The total energy requirement of 1,442,553 kWh, which means a surplus of 212,553 kWh of energy/year. The total energy (kWh) is an integration of energy sources which are 427,276 (25.8%), 274,500 (16.5%), and 857,263 (57.7%), due to wind, solar and diesel generators respectively. The cost of yearly consumed fuel is $437,828.769. The payback period for the winning system is 1.8 years. Finally, it is proved that the developed approach gives a reasonable solution to the decision-makers to find a fast, economic and reliable solution to energize the quarantine centers.
ABSTRACT
In pandemic conditions, where the COVID-19 infection is increasing exponentially, quarantine centres have become very necessary to separate and restrict the movement of people. These structures are also helpful in similar situations like disaster management, defence purposes and housing for poor people. Planning and Designing of Steel Intensive Quarantine Centre' takes on the task of designing and analysing an economical, ecological and rapid construction solution of a modular quarantine centre building. It facilitates a faster construction facility due to steel construction instead of RCC, which takes almost 70–80% more time and is not recyclable like steel. The schematic and elevation plans have been tweaked with additional architectural features to ensure ventilation, sunlight and accessible transit of patients. For economical structural design, the iterative method is incorporated to find columns with the minimum size and shape to achieve ample carpet area, i.e., star-shaped. While designing the structures, i.e., portal frame and truss roof frame are subjected to the same loading conditions. For resisting the lateral forces, different types of bracings have been incorporated in plan and elevation. The construction of a portal frame requires specialized labour to handle compound sections and connections, whereas construction of truss sections is possible by skilled labour or directly use prefabricated truss sections with the help of unskilled labour. Compound sections pose a significant challenge due to their unavailability and transportation difficulties. In contrast, the sections for trusses are readily available even in the remote market. Moreover, the construction of both structures provides rapid construction. The portal frame costs about 16% cheaper than the steel frame due to smaller sections and absence of compound sections. For validation of our work, we have used manual and automated calculation to minimize the error. The structure is expandable for future expansion by techniques such as expansion joint and satellite arrangement. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.