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TY  - THES
AU  - Stock, Jan
TI  - Separation of existing district heating networks for optimal utilisation of sustainable heat sources; 1. Auflage
VL  - 147
PB  - Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
VL  - Dissertation
CY  - Aachen
M1  - RWTH-2025-08912
SN  - 978-3-948234-61-4
T2  - E.ON Energy Research Center
SP  - V, XVII, 185 Seiten : Illustrationen
PY  - 2025
N1  - Druckausgabe: 2025. - Auch veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University
N1  - Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2025
AB  - The integration of sustainable heat sources into district heating systems is crucial to reduce the mainly fossil-based heat supply in the building sector. However, the utilisation of heat sources in existing district heating systems can be challenging due to their low-temperature level or unfavourable location in relation to the network structure. One promising approach to mitigate the difficulty of heat source utilisation is the decentralisation of existing district heating systems through network separation to enable a partial transformation of the separated network structure, depending on the local building requirements and the characteristics of the heat source utilised.In this thesis, a framework is developed that shows optimal network separation and partial transformation depending on the given district heating network structure and the heat source to be utilised. This framework comprises three main steps: (i) identification of coherent areas in a network structure by community detection, (ii) determination of the optimal network area for separation, while optimising the partial transformation of the separated district heating network by installing required heat pumps and (iii) simulation of the arising district heating networks to evaluate the feasible operation and sufficient heat supply to all buildings. In the district heating transformation process, it is essential to reduce the supply temperatures in the district heating network. Therefore, the potential to supply existing buildings in a district heating system with lower supply temperatures than specified by the nominal design temperature of the building heating system is analysed in detail. A method is contributed that enables a fast estimation of the actual supply temperature requirement of a building heating system using minimal input data. The developed framework for district heating network separation is tested with networks of different structures and sizes. The results show individual network separations that are influenced, for example, by the conditions of the utilised heat source or the focused optimisation objective. In addition, the revealed potential to supply building heating systems with lower supply temperatures than originally specified influences the decisions on separation and transformation. Finally, the detailed simulation of the arising district heating networks identifies critical areas for insufficient heat supply, from which various measures can be derived. The results obtained underline that network separation and partial transformation is a promising alternative approach for the efficient utilisation of sustainable heat sources and thus for the decarbonisation of existing district heating infrastructure.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)11 ; PUB:(DE-HGF)3
DO  - DOI:10.18154/RWTH-2025-08912
UR  - https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/1020339
ER  -