Simulation of more efficient system solutions in buildings supplied with district heating

Bearbeiter: Sandra Forndran

Betreuer: Wolfgang Streicher, Fabian Ochs, Alexander Thür

Summary

Scenarios for covering the heat demand in the future without usage of fossil fuels include an enhanced role of district heating systems. Especially in urban regions, district heating systems are a heat supply solution with growing potential. However, at the moment heat fed in the networks is partly still produced by burning fossil fuels. The elimination of these heat sources that are used to cover peaks of high heat demand and instead the inclusion of renewable energies requires new, more flexible concepts for district heating systems, since the heat production from renewable heat sources is often difficult or impossible to schedule. Besides advanced control strategies for the network operation, the consumer side needs to be optimized and its flexibility potential exploited for the benefit of the network operation. This dissertation therefore addresses the following specific questions: Alternative hydraulic concepts for house installations after the district heating substation that lead to higher system efficiency and lower return temperatures are to be investigated. Flexibility options on the consumer side can consist of the utilization of buffer storages as well as thermal mass of buildings. Concepts for using these flexibilities are to be developed with the goal of variable load shifting. This can include the reduction of heat load peaks as well as the consumption or storage of heat in periods of high production from non-schedulable heat sources like industrial waste heat or PV-driven heat pumps.