Thermal storage solutions for a building in a 4th generation district heating system : Development of a dynamic building model in Modelica

Abstract: The world is constantly striving towards a more sustainable living, where every part of contribution is greatly appreciated. When it comes to heating of buildings, district heating is often the main source of heat. During specific times, peak demands are created by the tenants who are demanding a lot of heat at the same time. This demand peak puts a high load on the piping system as well as the need for certain peak boilers that run on non-environmental friendly peak fuel. One solution that is presented in this degree project that solves the time difference between production and demand is by utilizing thermal storage solutions. A dynamic district heated building model is developed with proper heat propagation in the pipelines, thermal inertia in the building and heat losses through the walls of the building. This is all done utilizing 4th generation district heating temperatures. Modelica is the tool that was used to simulate different scenarios, where the preheating of indoor temperature is done to mitigate the possibility for demand peaks. Using an already existing model, implementation and adjustments are done to simulate thermal storage and investigate its effectiveness in a 4th generation district heating system. The results show that short-term energy storage is a viable solution in concrete buildings due to high building mass. However, combining both 4th generation district heating with storage in thermal mass is shown not to be suitable due to low temperatures of supply water, which is not able to increase the temperature of the building’s mass enough.