Investigation on Sector Coupling Potentials of a 5th Generation District Heating and Cooling Network

In this paper the development and application of an urban building energy simulation model is presented to analyse an existing 5th generation district heating and cooling network (5GDHC) with regard to possible sector coupling potentials. It was evaluated, how the heat energy production through large industrial heat pumps and the total thermal capacities of the 5GDHC network can provide flexibilities for power to heat applications. In a first step a multi model dynamic simulation was set up using the simulation environment IDA ICE. A previously developed urban energy simulation model formed the basis to implement the special requirements of the investigated 5GDHC network. This was followed by the calibration of the multi model simulation utilising the monitoring data of the existing 5GDHC network. In a second step the flexibilities of network sub areas were systematically investigated using step response tests. This was done with respect to key performance indicators like heat-up time or electrical energy consumption as a function of different boundary conditions like indoor comfort or outdoor air temperature. The third step comprised of a cumulative network analysis using different heating setpoint control strategies to optimise the operation of the network regarding heat production costs.