Communication-Based Distributed Control of Large-Scale District Heating Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel distributed model predictive control scheme for large-scale district heating networks, enabling local controllers to achieve global coordination and significantly reduce heat losses and return temperature.

Contribution

It develops a new information passing scheme and feasibility restoration method for distributed control, improving efficiency and coordination in district heating networks.

Findings

Reduced total losses by 14%

Lowered return temperature by 37%

Effective control on an 18-user network

Abstract

This paper presents a non-cooperative distributed model predictive controller for the control of large-scale District Heating Networks. To enable the design of this controller a novel information passing scheme and feasibility restoration method are created, allowing the local controllers to achieve a global consensus while minimizing a local cost function. The effectiveness of this controller is demonstrated on an 18-user District Heating Network decomposed into six subsystems. The results show that the developed control scheme effectively uses flexibility to manage the buildings' heat demands reducing the total losses by 14% and the return temperature by 37%.