Existing networks

A large share of our projects at heatbeat concerns existing networks for evaluation and optimization. Usually our customers have one or more of the following questions:

• What are the causes of high heat losses and how can the network operation be made more efficient?
• In many cases, the network operator has already identified some possible actions for improvement (e.g., reducing the supply temperature, adjusting other control parameters, or renewing a specific pipe section). How would these implementations affect the network, which implementations can be combined, and what are the concrete recommendations for action?
• To what capacity is the network running at the moment, where are the bottlenecks and where is the greatest potential for expansion?
• How can new generators be integrated into the network and how can the district heating network be decarbonized?

To answer these questions, we map the current status of the overall system to our heatbeat Digital Twin. In a first step, we create our Digital Twin and calibrate the model using the available measurement data. For this, we have a very low requirement to data quality and quantity. Through our calibration process, we can already achieve a reliable foundation for most investigations on the basis of a network plan, the measured data for power and temperatures at the supply and the billing data of the consumers for one year. If further measurement data are available, we also take them into account and thus increase the accuracy of the model.

We then map all the variants in the heatbeat Digital Twin, evaluate the simulation results in high temporal and spatial resolution and derive corresponding recommendations for your problem. This allows for detailed insights into the current operation and it also allows for detailed insights into the effects of various implementations on the operational management and on the system efficiency.