Evaluation and Export
Summarize the energy balances of the network simulation, export tables and charts, and process results externally
Overview
The result summary balances the dynamic network simulation over a freely selectable evaluation period: heat fed in and drawn out, source energy, electricity demand of heat pumps and pumps, as well as heat losses of the pipe network. Tables and charts can be copied to the clipboard or exported as a file; for more detailed evaluations, the external PostProc application as well as the DXF and GIS export are available.
Opening
Button 
Charts in the main toolbar, then the category Summary. Result files in the folder <projectname>/results/ next to the project file are a prerequisite.
Evaluation Period
| Field | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Simulation time: | – | Time simulated so far in h (display only; can also be updated during a running simulation) |
| Start of evaluation: | End of simulation − 8760 h | Start time of the evaluation in h since the start of the simulation |
| End of evaluation: | End of simulation | End time of the evaluation in h since the start of the simulation |
All energy amounts are integrals of the power time series over the evaluation period; positive and negative components (heating/cooling or feed-in/withdrawal) are balanced separately. By default, at most one year (8760 h) is evaluated.
Energy Balances
The table is divided into four sections; rows with the value 0 are hidden (the rows of the section Pipe network are always shown).
| Section | Quantities | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Energy plants | Heat energy fed into the network, cooling energy fed into the network, seasonal performance factor of the heat pumps, heat fed into the network (source), heat drawn out of the network, total source energy, electrical energy demand of the heat pumps | MWh (SPF: –) |
| Consumers | Heat drawn out by consumers, cooling drawn out by consumers, heat generated by the decentralized heat pumps, cooling energy through passive cooling, electrical energy demand of the decentralized heat pumps, source energy extracted by the decentralized heat pumps, seasonal performance factor of the decentralized heat pumps | MWh (SPF: –) |
| Pumps | Electrical energy demand of the circulation pumps | MWh |
| Pipe network | Absolute heat losses, heat losses per length, relative heat losses | MWh, kWh/m, % |
Notes on the balancing:
- The seasonal performance factor is calculated as the quotient of generated heat and electrical energy absorbed over the evaluation period.
- The relative heat losses relate the losses to the energy fed into the network in total (heat drawn out by consumers plus source energy of decentralized heat pumps plus losses).
- For cold networks with heat input from the ground, the table shows absolute heat gains, heat gains per length and relative heat gains instead of losses.
Practical tip:
The relative heat losses are your quickest plausibility check for the network design: a conspicuously high share points to oversized routes, too small a temperature spread, or too low a demand density. Balance a full annual cycle for this – the evaluation period is freely selectable via Start of evaluation and End of evaluation. For a network that has not yet settled, it is worth excluding the first simulation year from the evaluation.
Copying the Table
The button 
next to the summary copies the complete table to the clipboard – for pasting directly into a spreadsheet or report.
Exporting Chart Data and Images
Each chart of the line-chart view offers its own export buttons:
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
 | Save the time-series data as a TSV file (tab-separated, directly readable in Excel or Python) |
 | Export the chart as Bitmap or Vector graphics to a file or copy to clipboard |
External Evaluation with PostProc
Menu Tools > External results… (also available as a button in the main toolbar) opens the PostProc application with an automatically generated session file that references the project’s result files. If a session file already exists, VICUS Districts asks whether it should be overwritten. The path to the PostProc application is stored in the program settings.
The result files themselves are located in the folder <projectname>/results/ – one file per quantity following the pattern <networkname>.<quantity>.tsv (text format) or .btf (binary format, depending on the project’s output setting, see Defining outputs). This means they can also be processed further with your own tools.
Exporting Results into Plans
Results of the steady-state calculation can be transferred directly into planning documents:
- DXF export: labeling of the network plan with result quantities such as volume flow, pressure loss or heat loss per operating point.
- GIS export: result values of the selected operating point as attribute data of the pipe and consumer objects.