Consortium: iSensPro, UAntwerpen, VITO, Luminus, Noven, Zero Friction, IMEWO
The ICON Optiheat+ project investigates the detection and diagnosis of faults originating from three components of a district heating network: the pipelines, the substations, and the building installations. Various European studies indicate that district heating networks currently possess very limited automated supervision systems.
Moreover, new district heating networks are evolving towards lower operating temperatures, multiple user types, and combined energy vectors. This significantly increases operational complexity and the risk of suboptimal performance, thereby reducing economic returns and raising the likelihood of faults occurring.
The VLAIO-supported Optiheat+ project aims to address these challenges by developing and testing an automated fault detection and diagnosis system across real-world district heating networks. Additionally, the project involves developing and testing a prototype sensor designed to detect water leaks within these networks. Artificial intelligence and big data offer new opportunities to tackle these challenges. Fault detection can lead to significant performance improvements and reduced energy costs—not only in new networks but also in existing ones affected by aging infrastructure and operational malfunctions.
The project aims to achieve the following results by its conclusion:
- A detailed characterization and quantification of the most common and impactful faults in pipelines, substations, and building installations, including an assessment of their effect on system efficiency.
- A 10% increase in the energy efficiency of district heating networks, achieved by lowering the network's average return temperature by 5 to 10°C.
- A new dataset containing the data required to develop fault detection technologies, sourced from three real-life test sites (a large historic district heating network, a new medium-sized network, and a selection of approximately 40 small-scale collective heating systems).
- A coherent set of algorithms for detecting faults in substations and buildings, including an analysis of their potential impact. These prototypes must be scalable to at least 10,000 buildings and applicable to most European district heating networks.
- A prototype sensor—including the sensor setup and an algorithm—for the immediate detection of water leaks in underground district heating pipes. The new sensor system must be easy to install and more cost-effective than current systems.
Furthermore, the OptiHeat+ project is establishing an advisory framework for the design, construction, and operation of future district heating networks in Flanders. In this way, the OptiHeat+ project can boost the framework for high-quality training for project developers and installers, while also increasing end-user confidence.
