Abstract
Modern district energy systems are highly complex with several controllable and uncontrollable variables. To effectively manage a multi-vector district requires a holistic perspective in terms of both modelling and optimisation. Current district optimisation strategies found in the literature often consider very simple models for energy generation and conversion technologies. To improve upon the state of the art, more realistic and accurate models must be produced whilst remaining computationally and mathematically simple enough to calculate within short periods. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of modelling techniques for common district energy conversion technologies including Power-to-Gas. In addition, dynamic building modelling techniques are reviewed, as buildings must be considered active and flexible participants in a district energy system. In both cases, a specific focus is placed on artificial intelligence-based models suitable for implementation in the real-time operational optimisation of multi-vector systems. Future research directions identified from this review include the need to integrate simplified models of energy conversion units, energy distribution networks, dynamic building models and energy storage into a holistic district optimisation framework. Finally, a future district energy management solution is proposed. It leverages semantic modelling to allow interoperability of heterogeneous data sources to provide added value inferencing from contextually enriched information.
Highlights
Given that the building sector contributes around 40% of EU greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption [1], increased focus on improving energy efficiency is vital to meeting national and international obligations
This review aims to provide a more holistic review for researchers and practitioners that require a general understanding of modelling techniques for each component of a district energy system
This paper has reviewed the broad topic of energy modelling for district energy systems
Summary
Given that the building sector contributes around 40% of EU greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption [1], increased focus on improving energy efficiency is vital to meeting national and international obligations. A prominent trend in achieving this is the increased decentralisation of energy infrastructure This is, in part, enforced by the users who both consume energy and produce it, often using small-scale renewable generation like solar PV panels. Cogeneration can be achieved using combined heat and power units, CHP, that effectively capture the waste heat from electricity production and supply nearby demand with it. Often, these are facilitated by a district heating system, which has the benefits of being able to accept various forms of heating energy input such as excess heat from industry, waste incineration, CHP, geothermal or heat pumps [2]
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