QuantEEFlex – Quantifying the economic value of energy flexibility in urban districts
Flexibility potential and grid-aware operation of districts with a focus on local heating grids
QuantEEFlex investigates the flexibility potential of modern urban neighbourhoods and addresses the question of how operation can be made not only more climate-friendly but also more economical efficient by using this flexibility potential. A cornerstone of the project is the coupling of heat supply with locally generated electricity (PV) via heat pump-operated heating networks. Through intelligent load shifting, thermal inertia can serve as flexibility, but also e-mobility and battery storage can offer relevant opportunities for a viable utilisation of flexibility. However, most business models currently fail due to high transaction costs and technical installation costs.
The aim of QuantEEFlex is therefore to use detailed optimisation problems that calculate the full load shifting potential to ultimately derive simple control algorithms that can be integrated into existing building energy management systems. Together with the international research partners at Sakarya University (Turkey), some of these control algorithms are being tested during operation in an existing neighbourhood.
The “Am Kempelenpark” district in Vienna, which is currently in the planning phase, will serve as a demonstration neighbourhood in Austria. The findings from QuantEEFlex will be incorporated into the planning process and reveal potential for flexibility. As a result of the project, e7 is also developing a flexibility planning tool that can be used to analyse and model flexibility in urban districts.
