A study on operation control of urban centralized heating system based on cyber-physical systems

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) 2020-01, Vol.191, p.116569, Article 116569
• Main Authors: Lin, Xiaojie, Liu, Sibin, Lu, Shuowei, Li, Zhongbo, Zhou, Yi, Yu, Zitao, Zhong, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boilers; Calibration; Cogeneration; Cyber-physical systems; Decision making; Electrical transmission; Graph theory; Heating; Load distribution; Load distribution (forces); Modelling; Natural gas; Operation control; Optimization; Pressure; Real time operation; Stress concentration; Substations; Urban centralized heating system
• ISSN: 0360-5442; 1873-6785
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2019.116569

Intelligent and efficient operation of large-scale urban centralized heating system (UCHS) is a hot topic in urban energy system field. This study develops an intelligent operation control platform for China’s UCHS via “cyber-physical systems” (CPS). The platform is based on graph theory and thermal-hydraulic modeling and has been validated against measured data collected from the substations. 88.5% of the modeled substation supply pressure has an error of less than 5%, and 82.1% of the modeled substation return pressure has an error of less than 5%. The platform carries out “model-based prediction” and “prediction-based decision-making” by incorporating state sensing, load forecasting, modeling, and model-based operation optimization. The platform is further applied to a target UCHS using coal-based combined heat and power (CHP) units and gas-fired boilers as heating sources and covering an area of 15 million m2. To ensure the accuracy, this study carries out online calibration with real-time operation data and tests the load distribution feature during the pilot heating season. During a two-day operation, the optimized heating sources load distribution scheme could reduce natural gas consumption by up to 31.2% when compared with existing experience-based operation. The operation cost during that operation period is also reduced by 2.6%, accordingly. •“Cyber-physical systems” idea is applied to urban centralized heating system.•A CPS-based control platform is developed and further tested in a real site.•The platform reduces overall energy consumption during pilot season testing.