**2. Methodology**

Regarding the design criteria of the RTCs solution, di fferent technologies for energy production and storage concerning containerized solutions for emergencies were analyzed for the SHES. The equipment was selected from a range of commercial products based on sizing calculations and container space. The travel weight and volume, logistical support, required maintenance, and any hazards associated with the systems were also considered. Finally, for each of the selected technologies, detailed design work was conducted.

The system was proposed to the Canadian Armed Forces, and as such, the annual energy performance reported in this study was analyzed for the temperate climate zone of Brandon (Manitoba, Canada) at 49.85◦ N. Through dynamic energy and energy managemen<sup>t</sup> simulations with a combination of software including the DoE Energy Plus and HOMER Pro software, the performance of the SHES system was analyzed.

First, an energy model reproducing the existing baseline 150-person military camp was created using Energy Plus, and data related to geometry, constructions, occupancy, HVAC, lighting, equipment, operation, climate, and energy managemen<sup>t</sup> system (EMS) was assigned. Furthermore, the energy model was calibrated to match the actual net energy and heating energy consumptions of the RTCs and deriving and collating data from past RTC deployments as a reference for the design process. For this purpose, the net energy consumption was described as the combined energy consumptions of electricity generation and diesel-heating equipment. Second, the Energy Plus-generated electric and thermal hourly load profiles were imported to HOMER Pro, a microgrid design, simulation, and optimization tool, used for the purposes as a design and investment decision support tool for selecting the optimal portfolio, sizing, placement, and dispatch of the multiple energy sources feeding the decentralized energy system and serving the camp loads. HOMER Pro was also used in performing sensitivity analyses to identify the most cost-e ffective system configuration at various fuel costs and nominal discount rates.

The dynamic studies made it possible to conduct comparisons between di fferent utility systems scenarios, comprising multiple distributed energy resources and energy conservation measures (i.e., advanced insulation materials), over the current base camp practices. Further simulations were subsequently made on the most cost-e ffective proposed solution to estimate the annual fuel use and energy savings for di fferent climate zones.

In order to evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of the many options and to account for variations in technology costs and energy resource availability, the operation of the di fferent system configurations was simulated in HOMER Pro by performing dynamic energy balance. For each time step and for each system configuration considered, HOMER Pro compared the electric and thermal demand to the energy that the system can supply and calculated the flow of energy to and from each component of the system. In each time step, the analyses focused on how to operate the generators and whether to charge or discharge the batteries and determined whether a configuration is feasible. The study also looked at the system cost calculations in terms of capital, replacement, operation and maintenance, fuel, and interest rates. Furthermore, HOMER Pro used optimization algorithms to

search for the most cost-e ffective system configuration in terms of net present cost (life cycle cost). Details about the calculations are available in the HOMER Pro user manual [21].

It is important to note that the lowest net present cost did not necessarily indicate the lowest energy consumption; however, incorporating the operational costs in the calculation, it was used to find the optimal system design rather than net energy consumptions.
