The construction of a district heating network integrated into the existing electrical network of the “Distributed Energy Resources Test Facility” at RSE has enabled the creation of a Multi-Energy system capable of testing innovative solutions for managing integrated energy systems.
The implemented system constitutes a true district heating network characterized by components of different types, such as natural gas and electric boilers, heat pumps, a cogenerator, storage tanks, and end-users.
The district heating network was designed and built with a modular approach that allows the system to operate with all systems in use or with only some of them, ensuring the possibility of testing the system with increasing levels of complexity.
From a mechanical perspective, the system was constructed using a skid methodology, which not only facilitates easier assembly of the systems in the workshop, reducing on-site construction work but also allows for easier management of the system during experimental operation.
The district heating network features configuration racks that, through simple valve operations, allow for changes in the configuration and topology of the system, enabling experimentation with both traditional district heating networks (with centralized heat generation) and innovative networks with distributed heat generation.
The system also includes an auxiliary cooling circuit that ensures the dissipation of heat produced by the system’s generators, through user emulation systems.
The electrical loads, connected to custom-built distribution panels, are supplied by two different power lines: the first, connected to the microgrid of distributed generation at the RSE Test Facility, powers the real loads of the district heating network (boilers, heat pumps, circulation pumps, etc.), while the second, connected to the auxiliary line, powers the auxiliary loads necessary for managing the experimental system, such as the cooling circuit and heaters that emulate local heat generation at the end-user (e.g., from renewable sources). The system is managed by a PLC-based control system programmed by RSE.