Pseudo-dynamic simulation on a district energy system made of coupling technologies

As part of an effort towards the future smart energy system, integration of different distributed generation technologies is proposed in literature. These technologies include heat pumps, gas boilers, combined heat and power (CHP) plants, solar photo-voltaic (PV) and so on. Some of these technologies couple different energy carriers in which case the independent analysis of each network could lead to unrealistic results. Optimization of heat pumps and CHP plants in coupled electricity and heating network, for example, needs consideration of both networks' parameters in order to get results that are optimal in both networks. The first step in such optimization process is to have a load flow model (as an equality constraint) for the two coupled networks. Even though many researchers tried to address optimization of energy mixes at a district level, they did not consider the details of network parameters. And hence, too little has been done to investigate the effect of different distributed generation technologies on the operational parameters of different energy networks. This paper deals with a pseudo-dynamic simulation of a district energy system that consists of coupled electricity and heating networks. The details of transmission line and pipe parameters together with the coupling devices are modelled using an extended energy hub approach. A network of six energy hubs with different distributed generation technologies such as heat pump, gas boiler, CHP and Solar PV is considered in the simulation. Time series data for demands and generations at different hubs are used on hourly basis. The CHP and heat pumps are scheduled to operate in certain period of the year while the PV output follows the annual solar radiation. Annual pseudo-dynamic load flow simulation is done to see how the operational parameters and power losses in the network vary with hourly changes in demands, generations and loading of coupling technologies.