An optimization framework for the network design of advanced district thermal energy systems

In this work, a topology optimization framework for district thermal energy systems is presented. The framework seeks to address the questions, for a given district, “What is the best subset of buildings to connect to a district thermal energy system, and by what network should they be connected, to minimize life cycle cost?” A particle swarm optimization approach is validated to address the selection of the subset of buildings, and a graph theory-based heuristic is validated for selection of the network topology for any candidate subset of buildings. The framework is applied to a prototypical urban district for illustrative purposes. Modeling of prototypical districts revealed reductions in source energy use intensity for heating and cooling of 21–25% through the use of advanced district energy systems relative to code-compliant, building level systems. The framework identifies solutions with life cycle cost values 14% to 72% lower than that of base case scenarios based on conventional design approaches, depending on the base case scenario selected. Analysis of the search space indicates that topology optimization facilitates reductions in life cycle cost, source energy use intensity, and carbon emissions.

© This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Work Title An optimization framework for the network design of advanced district thermal energy systems
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Amy Allen
  2. Gregor Henze
  3. Kyri Baker
  4. Gregory Pavlak
  5. Michael Murphy
Keyword
  1. district thermal energy systems
  2. ambient loops
  3. topology optimization
  4. particle swarm optimization
License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Elsevier BV
Publication Date August 2022
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. 10.1016/j.enconman.2022.115839
Source
  1. Energy Conversion and Management
Deposited August 31, 2022

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added An_Optimization_Framework_for_the_Network_Design_of_Advanced_District_Thermal_Energy_Systems__Development_and_Case_Study__v2-1.pdf
  • Added Creator Amy Allen
  • Added Creator Gregor Henze
  • Added Creator Kyri Baker
  • Added Creator Gregory Pavlak
  • Added Creator Michael Murphy
  • Published
  • Updated Work Title, Keyword Show Changes
    Work Title
    • An optimization framework for the network design of advanced district thermal energy systems
    • ! An optimization framework for the network design of advanced district thermal energy systems
    Keyword
    • district thermal energy systems, ambient loops, topology optimization, particle swarm optimization
  • Updated Work Title Show Changes
    Work Title
    • ! An optimization framework for the network design of advanced district thermal energy systems
    • An optimization framework for the network design of advanced district thermal energy systems
  • Updated