Simultaneity and Part Load tab
All controls of the network properties tab Simultaneity and Part Load: color mode, simultaneity and display settings, custom simultaneity per pipe and part-load fraction per consumer
Overview
The Simultaneity and Part Load tab in the network properties displays the simultaneity results as false colors in the network, controls the calculation and is used to edit the custom simultaneity of individual pipes as well as the part-load fraction of individual consumers. The underlying calculation model is described on the page Simultaneity and Part Load.
Opening
The 
Network button in the toolbar of the 3D view opens the network properties; there, select the Simultaneity and Part Load tab. The tab is a single continuous page with five sections: color mode, simultaneity settings, display settings, custom simultaneity per pipe and part-load fraction per consumer.
Color mode
The Color mode: selection field determines solely which quantity is displayed in color in the network - it does not show or hide any input fields.
| Entry | Display |
|---|---|
| Simultaneity results | Colors the pipes by their achieved simultaneity factor (continuous color scale, default). The legend is titled Achieved simultaneity or Effective simultaneity when the part-load fraction is taken into account |
| Custom simultaneity per pipe | Colors only the pipes for which a custom simultaneity is set (legend Simultaneity factor) |
| Part-load fraction per consumer | Colors the consumer nodes by their part-load fraction (legend Part-load fraction) |
Note: the color mode only determines the coloring. Whether the editing fields for the custom simultaneity or the part-load fraction appear depends solely on the selection in the 3D view (pipe or consumer), not on the color mode - even though two entries have the same name.
Simultaneity settings
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Take simultaneity into account | Activates simultaneity for the network. Only then do time shifts and reduced demands enter pipe sizing, steady-state calculation and dynamic simulation. Default: off |
 Recalculate simultaneity | Starts the calculation directly with the most recently saved settings (or the default values 6 h / 20 min / Balanced), without opening the settings dialog. A progress bar shows the progress |
 Calculation options… | Opens the Simultaneity Calculation dialog, in which settings and the target curve can be changed and the calculation can be run with a result display, see Simultaneity Calculation |
Both buttons are only operable when Take simultaneity into account is activated. A warning message appears as long as no valid results are available:
| State | Message (approximate) |
|---|---|
| No results | No simultaneity results are available. Click “Recalculate simultaneity”. |
| Outdated | The displayed simultaneity results are outdated and may no longer match the current network. |
| Invalid | The stored simultaneity results are invalid and cannot be displayed. Recalculate to refresh the display. |
Display settings
These two check boxes affect the display only. They are operable exclusively in the Simultaneity results color mode with simultaneity activated and valid results, otherwise grayed out. Default: both off.
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Take part-load fraction into account | Multiplies the displayed simultaneity values by the load-weighted part-load fraction of each pipe; the legend changes from Achieved simultaneity to Effective simultaneity |
| Show consumer time shifts | Labels each consumer node with its optimized time shift, e.g. +2.00 h or -1.50 h. Positive values mean a delay, negative values an advance of the demand profile |
Custom simultaneity per pipe
This section appears as soon as one or more pipes of the active network are selected (without a selection, it shows the hint Select a pipe to edit the custom simultaneity factor.).
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Use custom simultaneity | Activates a fixed target simultaneity factor for the selected pipes, which overrides the global target curve. Default: off |
| Simultaneity factor: | Target simultaneity factor for the selected pipes, range 0.00 - 1.00, step 0.05. A value of 1.00 means no simultaneity (full peak load). Only operable when Use custom simultaneity is activated |
The optimizer then tries to reach the specified factor for these pipes instead of the one derived from the curve. This is useful when the default curve yields unrealistic values, for example on a main line with few, unusually large consumers.
In practice:
The default curve assumes many similar consumers and reduces their peaks substantially. On a main line with only a few but very large consumers (e.g. industry or a large residential quarter on a single branch) this is often too optimistic. There, use Use custom simultaneity to deliberately set a higher, more conservative simultaneity factor - up to 1.00 for the full peak load.
Part-load fraction per consumer
This section appears as soon as one or more consumer nodes are selected (without a selection: Select a consumer to edit the part-load fraction.). Only transfer stations are editable; distributor or source nodes are skipped.
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Part-load fraction: | Share of the heating power that the consumer actually draws, range 0.00 - 1.00. A value of 1.00 corresponds to the full design load, smaller values reduce the applied heating power in the steady-state calculation and dynamic simulation. Default: 1.00 |
Operating notes
- Inputs are applied to all selected elements and can be undone.
- With a multiple selection of differing values the field stays empty (or the check box shows an intermediate state); an entry then unifies all selected elements.
- Without a selection both hints are shown at the same time; a mixed selection of pipe and consumer can show both editing sections.