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Contact Tying the knot with AI
How to create every-day value in district heating using artificial intelligence

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2019-10-03 ©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 2
• HQ in Karlshamn, Sweden. Offices in Malmö
and London. Partners in Belgium, Germany
and Poland
• Grid operators, building owners and
automation companies as customers in
Sweden, Poland, Benelux, UK and Germany
• Innovation focus on artificial intelligence and
data science for energy system applications
• Founded in 2005
NODA – company info

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VITO – company info
• VITO, part of EnergyVille, is an applied,
independent research institute, offering,
amongst others, technology for the
transition to the next generation of district
heating and cooling networks
• The innovation focus includes energy
conversion technologies, thermal networks
and thermal storage
• EnergyVille includes VITO, KU Leuven, IMEC
and Hasselt University

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 4
• The drivers of digitalization
• Digitalisation in energy
• Digitalisation in district heating and cooling (DHC)
• Smart thermal networks in practice
Agenda

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 5
The drivers of digitalisation

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 6
The drivers of digitalisation

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 7
The drivers of digitalisation

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 8
The drivers of digitalisation

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 9
The drivers of digitalisation

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Digitalisation in energy - present

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 11
Digitalisation in energy - future

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 12
Digitalisation in DHC
what makes a heat network a digital heat network?
No univocal definition yet…
…but some criteria:
• Large number of sensors present in the network
• Automated recording, transfer and storage of data
• Automated analyses of data
• The analyses are used:
• Not only automated billing
• But to optimize the network operation

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 13
Digitalisation in DHC
what makes a heat network a digital heat network?
No univocal definition yet…
…but some criteria:
• Large number of sensors present in the network
• Automated recording, transfer and storage of data
• Automated analyses of data
• The analyses are used:
• Not only automated billing
• But to optimize the network operation
Source: Lund H. Werner S. et al. 4th Generation District Heating (4GDH) Integrating smart thermal
grids into future sustainable energy systems. Energy 68 (2014) 1-11

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 14
Foundation for innovation
STORM – https://www.storm-dhc.eu/ TEMPO – http://tempo-dhc.eu/

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 15
System overview

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 16
Forecaster
Creates forecasts of heat
demand and available
thermal flexibility
Planner
Creates control plans based on
current forecasts and system
constraints
Tracker
Distribute control actions among
the connected buildings
Building
Software agent for each individual
building or other flexibility source
within the Smart Heat Grid
NODA API
Secure access to data and
functionality, e.g. for SCADA’s,
mobile apps or customised system
components´
NODA Access
Processes and tools to integrate
buildings and other external
resources
EnergyView
Web-based user interface for the
Smart Heat Grid
System overview

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 17

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 20

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 21

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 22
Information
Data
Knowledge

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©2019 VITO / NODA Intelligent Systems 23

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District heating and cooling is the backbone of the smart city and a cornerstone of the
future sustainable energy system

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ContactIntelligent energy services
Dr. Christian Johansson, CTO
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dirk.vanhoudt@vito.be christian.johansson@noda.se