Sizing with multiple energy plants

District heating network, part 8: pipe sizing for networks with multiple energy plants

Overview ▶ 0:09

District heating network with a single energy plant as the starting point — Starting point: network with one energy plant, which is extended with a second feed-in point

This tutorial demonstrates how to place a second energy plant and perform pipe sizing for a network with multiple feed-in points.

Placing a second energy plant ▶ 0:24

Placement of a second energy plant at the desired position — Placement of the second energy plant (heat generator 2) at the desired position in the network

Switch to the Add tab and select Energy plant.
Place the energy plant at the desired position and assign a name (e.g. “Heat generator 2”).
Create the energy plant.

Connecting to the network ▶ 0:42

New pipe connects the second energy plant with the existing network — Connecting the second energy plant: new pipe to the existing network with automatic elevation query

Draw a new pipe and connect it to the existing network.
Switch to network mode and Query elevations — this automatically sets the correct elevation.

Pipe sizing with multiple energy plants ▶ 1:15

Pipe sizing with new tab for energy plant properties — Pipe sizing: new tab with energy plant properties when multiple feed-in points are present

In pipe mode, open Pipe sizing. As soon as more than one energy plant is present, a new tab appears with the properties of the energy plants.

Settings ▶ 1:33

Sizing settings with 15 K spread and pipe selection — Sizing settings: 15 K temperature spread with pre-selected pipes from the database

The remaining sizing settings stay the same (e.g. 15 Kelvin temperature spread). The pipes are already selected from the database.

Options for the split ▶ 1:58

Building split options: closest buildings or power limit — Split options: automatically assign closest buildings or limit power (e.g. 200 kW)

On the Energy plants tab, various options are available:

Supply all closest buildings (on both energy plants): The buildings are automatically split — it is determined which building is closer to which energy plant, and the pipe sizing is carried out accordingly.
Limit power: At the second heat generator, the power can be limited (e.g. to 200 kW). The first heat generator (with the “all closest buildings” option) then supplies the remaining buildings that cannot be covered with the 200 kW.

Performing the sizing ▶ 2:55

Pipe sizing shows supply areas of the two energy plants — Result: pipe sizes show from which side which consumers are supplied

After performing the pipe sizing, the pipe sizes make it clear from which side which consumers are supplied. Simulation with multiple energy plants is covered in the next video.