Enercity relies on artificial intelligence

A pilot project by the Hanover-based energy service provider Enercity, in collaboration with the Ostland housing cooperative, demonstrates how district heating customers can achieve significant CO2 savings with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). In total, approximately 2,000 people in about 900 apartments are now benefiting from the new technology—and with them, the housing industry itself. Further projects are planned, as the company announced on September 22, 2020.

Real-time Internet-based measurement and control

The AI-based software integrates buildings into the district heating system’s optimization process and, based on continuous real-time measurements, dynamically adjusts the control of heated buildings to actual demand. Thanks to self-learning control software, everyone involved benefits: tenants enjoy savings on energy costs, the housing cooperative benefits from improved analysis and communication capabilities, and Enercity gains greater flexibility as well as lower temperatures in the district heating network. This is because the return temperature, in particular, has a decisive impact on a heating system’s efficiency: If it is lowered from 60 to 40 degrees Celsius, the heating output can be increased by up to 70 percent. The lower the temperature level of the district heating network, the higher the proportion of heat from renewable sources can be.

Smart software reduces CO2 emissions

The use of AI makes district heating “smart city”-ready, because in most heating networks, the customer side—that is, the world beyond the transfer station—has not yet been actively integrated into network operations. “After one year, the pilot project yielded energy savings of about nine percent and reduced network return temperatures by up to ten degrees Kelvin. CO2 emissions were also reduced,” says enercity CEO Dr. Susanna Zapreva. Digitalization also makes it possible to optimize the district heating network from production all the way to the customer.

Another 100 apartment buildings will be equipped with smart control systems

Based on the positive results from the pilot project with the self-learning, cloud-based software, enercity retrofitted an additional 100 connected apartment buildings during the second phase. Since then, approximately 2,000 residents in 900 apartments have been benefiting from the AI-based control system. Customer satisfaction has noticeably increased. “Thanks to the control system, our tenants enjoy pleasant and comfortable warmth that saves energy and protects the climate. Communication with enercity’s service technicians is also simpler. When complaints arise, they can access real-time data from our properties and offer faster, more targeted solutions,” says Ostland board member Andreas Wahl, highlighting the benefits. The housing cooperative manages approximately 2,000 apartments in 254 buildings in the Hanover region.

Load management increases grid flexibility and makes efficient use of district heating capacity

The second phase of the project focuses more on peak load optimization. The AI-driven program counteracts peak loads by predicting them and intelligently regulating space heating, shifting when heating occurs without compromising indoor comfort. In doing so, the software uses the buildings themselves as distributed heat storage units. Shifting demand—and thus heat consumption—effectively reduces peak loads, which lowers costs for customers. Enercity requires less generation capacity to meet demand. This makes district heating an even more sustainable heat source for the future. A modern district heating infrastructure makes a major contribution to cities’ efforts to mitigate climate change. As Enercity’s pilot project has shown, the key lies in digitalization.

"The use of smart controls in the project resulted not only in energy savings but also in a reduction in peak load of about 20 percent. Such a reduction in peak load across the entire grid would allow enercity to connect 25 percent more customers to the district heating network without having to expand existing production capacity," said enercity CEO Zapreva. In the long term, using buildings as heat storage can significantly reduce the need for peak-load boilers, which are used to meet increased demand. The cost of district heating production in combined heat and power plants would decrease further—and with it, CO2 emissions.

(Published on September 22, 2020)