Optimal Scheduling of Combined Heat and Power Generation Units Using the Thermal Inertia of the Connected District Heating Grid as Energy Storage

Lennart Merkert, Ashvar Abdoul Haime and Sören Hohmann
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Lennart Merkert: ABB Corporate Research Center Germany, 68526 Ladenburg, Germany
Ashvar Abdoul Haime: ABB Corporate Research Center Germany, 68526 Ladenburg, Germany
Sören Hohmann: Institute for Control Systems, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-9

Abstract: A better integration across sectors is an essential element of 4th generation district heating and smart energy systems allowing to react to volatile renewable energy generation. This sector coupling enables to use more cost-efficient storage as storage prices differ for different forms of energy. Thermal energy for example can be stored in comparably cheap storage tanks. Besides such dedicated storage, the thermal inertia of a heating grid can be used as thermal storage as well. In this paper, a classic unit commitment optimization for scheduling of combined heat and power units not considering grid dynamics is extended to cover thermal dynamics of heating grids. First an outer approximation of the grid storage capabilities is developed. Second, a very efficient formulation for the storage dynamics of a heating grid is introduced and its capabilities are shown in a motivating case study. In this study additional savings of several thousand Euros per day are achieved using the thermal inertia of a heating grid as storage.

Keywords: integrated heat and power dispatch; optimal unit commitment; district heating network; inherent thermal storage; thermal inertia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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