IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i2p379-d478833.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modelling of an Existing Neutral Temperature District Heating Network: Detailed and Approximate Approaches

Author

Listed:
  • Selva Calixto

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy
    Eurac Research, Institute for Renewable Energy, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy)

  • Marco Cozzini

    (Eurac Research, Institute for Renewable Energy, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy)

  • Giampaolo Manzolini

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

This paper deals with the modelling of an existing neutral-temperature district heating network, meaning that the distribution temperature is close to the ambient temperature, with decentralised heat pumps. The considered case is located in Ospitaletto, Italy. Heat sources are given by industrial waste heat at about 25 °C and aquifer wells at about 15 °C. Two models are used to analyse the network: a detailed model able to calculate local values of operating parameters and an approximate model focused on energy balances aggregating all users with a lumped demand. Both models include the behaviour of heat pumps, a feature not available in other district heating modelling tools. An entire year of operation is considered, with an hourly time resolution. Load profiles are provided as inputs, while the main outputs consist of energy balances and primary energy consumptions. The corresponding results are compared, showing a reasonable agreement, where the approximate model underestimates the overall electricity consumptions by about 15% with respect to the detailed model. On the other hand, the different information levels and execution times (the detailed model requires about 30 min to solve the considered network for a full year with hourly time steps, while the approximate model is almost immediate) make the two models suitable for different purposes, like the simulation of control solutions for the detailed one and scenario analysis for the other.

Suggested Citation

  • Selva Calixto & Marco Cozzini & Giampaolo Manzolini, 2021. "Modelling of an Existing Neutral Temperature District Heating Network: Detailed and Approximate Approaches," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:2:p:379-:d:478833
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/2/379/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/2/379/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lund, Henrik & Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Chang, Miguel & Werner, Sven & Svendsen, Svend & Sorknæs, Peter & Thorsen, Jan Eric & Hvelplund, Frede & Mortensen, Bent Ole Gram & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Boje, 2018. "The status of 4th generation district heating: Research and results," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 147-159.
    2. Averfalk, Helge & Werner, Sven, 2020. "Economic benefits of fourth generation district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    3. Michel Noussan & Roberta Roberto & Benedetto Nastasi, 2018. "Performance Indicators of Electricity Generation at Country Level—The Case of Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Wirtz, Marco & Kivilip, Lukas & Remmen, Peter & Müller, Dirk, 2020. "5th Generation District Heating: A novel design approach based on mathematical optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    5. Lund, Henrik & Werner, Sven & Wiltshire, Robin & Svendsen, Svend & Thorsen, Jan Eric & Hvelplund, Frede & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2014. "4th Generation District Heating (4GDH)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 1-11.
    6. Ma, Weiwu & Fang, Song & Liu, Gang & Zhou, Ruoyu, 2017. "Modeling of district load forecasting for distributed energy system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 181-205.
    7. Buffa, Simone & Cozzini, Marco & D’Antoni, Matteo & Baratieri, Marco & Fedrizzi, Roberto, 2019. "5th generation district heating and cooling systems: A review of existing cases in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 504-522.
    8. Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Andersen, Anders N., 2016. "Booster heat pumps and central heat pumps in district heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1374-1388.
    9. Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Andersen, Anders N., 2018. "Economic feasibility of booster heat pumps in heat pump-based district heating systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 921-929.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jordi García-Céspedes & Ignasi Herms & Georgina Arnó & José Juan de Felipe, 2022. "Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling Networks Based on Shallow Geothermal Energy: A review and Possible Solutions for Mediterranean Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-31, December.
    2. Maccarini, Alessandro & Sotnikov, Artem & Sommer, Tobias & Wetter, Michael & Sulzer, Matthias & Afshari, Alireza, 2023. "Influence of building heat distribution temperatures on the energy performance and sizing of 5th generation district heating and cooling networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    3. Silvia Ravelli, 2022. "District Heating and Cooling towards Net Zero," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-2, August.
    4. Gianni Martinazzoli & Daniele Pasinelli & Adriano Maria Lezzi & Mariagrazia Pilotelli, 2023. "Design of a 5th Generation District Heating Substation Prototype for a Real Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lund, Henrik & Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Nielsen, Tore Bach & Werner, Sven & Thorsen, Jan Eric & Gudmundsson, Oddgeir & Arabkoohsar, Ahmad & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2021. "Perspectives on fourth and fifth generation district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    2. Brunt, Nicholas & Duquette, Jean & O'Brien, William, 2023. "Techno-economic and environmental performance of two state-of-the-art solar-assisted district energy system topologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    3. Gudmundsson, Oddgeir & Schmidt, Ralf-Roman & Dyrelund, Anders & Thorsen, Jan Eric, 2022. "Economic comparison of 4GDH and 5GDH systems – Using a case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    4. Mengting Jiang & Camilo Rindt & David M. J. Smeulders, 2022. "Optimal Planning of Future District Heating Systems—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-38, September.
    5. Zhou, Suyang & Chen, Jinyi & Gu, Wei & Fang, Xin & Yuan, Xiaodong, 2023. "An adaptive space-step simulation approach for steam heating network considering condensate loss," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    6. Pieper, Henrik & Krupenski, Igor & Brix Markussen, Wiebke & Ommen, Torben & Siirde, Andres & Volkova, Anna, 2021. "Method of linear approximation of COP for heat pumps and chillers based on thermodynamic modelling and off-design operation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    7. Michele Tunzi & Matthieu Ruysschaert & Svend Svendsen & Kevin Michael Smith, 2020. "Double Loop Network for Combined Heating and Cooling in Low Heat Density Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-24, November.
    8. Meibodi, Saleh S. & Loveridge, Fleur, 2022. "The future role of energy geostructures in fifth generation district heating and cooling networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    9. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    10. Wirtz, Marco, 2023. "nPro: A web-based planning tool for designing district energy systems and thermal networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    11. Stanislav Chicherin & Vladislav Mašatin & Andres Siirde & Anna Volkova, 2020. "Method for Assessing Heat Loss in A District Heating Network with A Focus on the State of Insulation and Actual Demand for Useful Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Golmohamadi, Hessam & Larsen, Kim Guldstrand & Jensen, Peter Gjøl & Hasrat, Imran Riaz, 2022. "Integration of flexibility potentials of district heating systems into electricity markets: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    13. Reiners, Tobias & Gross, Michel & Altieri, Lisa & Wagner, Hermann-Josef & Bertsch, Valentin, 2021. "Heat pump efficiency in fifth generation ultra-low temperature district heating networks using a wastewater heat source," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    14. Sommer, Tobias & Sotnikov, Artem & Sulzer, Matthias & Scholz, Volkher & Mischler, Stefan & Rismanchi, Behzad & Gjoka, Kristian & Mennel, Stefan, 2022. "Hydrothermal challenges in low-temperature networks with distributed heat pumps," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    15. Werner, Sven, 2022. "Network configurations for implemented low-temperature district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    16. Gjoka, Kristian & Rismanchi, Behzad & Crawford, Robert H., 2023. "Fifth-generation district heating and cooling systems: A review of recent advancements and implementation barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    17. Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup & Smith, Kevin Michael & Tunzi, Michele & Svendsen, Svend, 2022. "Low-temperature operation of heating systems to enable 4th generation district heating: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    18. Anna Grzegórska & Piotr Rybarczyk & Valdas Lukoševičius & Joanna Sobczak & Andrzej Rogala, 2021. "Smart Asset Management for District Heating Systems in the Baltic Sea Region," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-25, January.
    19. Jodeiri, A.M. & Goldsworthy, M.J. & Buffa, S. & Cozzini, M., 2022. "Role of sustainable heat sources in transition towards fourth generation district heating – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    20. Jimenez-Navarro, Juan-Pablo & Kavvadias, Konstantinos & Filippidou, Faidra & Pavičević, Matija & Quoilin, Sylvain, 2020. "Coupling the heating and power sectors: The role of centralised combined heat and power plants and district heat in a European decarbonised power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:2:p:379-:d:478833. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.