Abstract
The structure of an integrated energy system is complex. Thermoeconomics can play a significant role in the analysis of IES because it makes up for the deficiency of traditional thermodynamic analysis and provides new information on the cost and energy conversion efficiency. When using thermoeconomics to analyze the energy efficiency of an IES, one key issue that needs to be solved is how to transfer irreversible loss across thermal cycles, so that the mechanism of system performance degradation can be fully revealed. To this end, an irreversible cost and exergy cost integrated analysis method based on improved thermoeconomics is proposed, in which the cumulative and transmission impact of irreversible loss across thermal cycles is evaluated using linear transformation of matrix. A case study on a 389MW combined cooling, heating, and power IES demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The proposed approach can reveal the key links impairing the overall energy efficiency and transfer of irreversible loss across thermal cycles. The approach can be extended to various types of IES to provide directions for the assessment and optimization of the system.