Kicherer Nina, Benalcazar Pablo, Lorenzen Peter, Kozlenko Olessya, Tomtulu Sadi, Trosdorff Jan
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Berliner Tor 5, 20099, Hamburg, Germany.
Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Wybickiego 7A, 31-261, Kraków, Poland.
MethodsX. 2025 Feb 13;14:103222. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2025.103222. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Strategic planning of future heat supply, particularly in the context of district heating systems, is essential for achieving a viable and cost-efficient energy transition. However, existing planning tools for district heating systems often require detailed data, which is frequently unavailable in the early stages of the planning process. In response to this challenge, this paper presents Heat4Future, a new planning tool designed to provide insights into potential decarbonized district heating systems for a given location using minimal input data. The tool demonstrates the implementation of an innovative methodology for strategic planning of district heating systems. It uses a snapshot simulation model to configure the supply for a particular district heating system, taking into account the annual heat demand and user-specified heat sources. The tool comprises of four modules for calculating the cost-effective generation profile of the system. It is designed to generate detailed hourly profiles over an entire year for key parameters essential to the operation and planning of a DHS using a specified set of renewable energy sources, including heat load, generation, and storage profiles.•Heat4Future provides an overview of the possibilities for a decarbonized district heating supply in a specific location.•The simulation tool contains four modules for calculating the system's generation profile: Weather and Environmental Data Module, Thermal Load Module, Buffer Thermal Energy Storage Module, and Strategic Heat Planning Module.•The tool is licensed under the MIT License and is available as an open-source repository on GitLab.
未来供热的战略规划，尤其是在区域供热系统的背景下，对于实现可行且具有成本效益的能源转型至关重要。然而，现有的区域供热系统规划工具通常需要详细的数据，而这些数据在规划过程的早期阶段往往无法获取。针对这一挑战，本文介绍了Heat4Future，这是一种新的规划工具，旨在使用最少的输入数据，深入了解给定地点潜在的脱碳区域供热系统。该工具展示了一种用于区域供热系统战略规划的创新方法的实施。它使用快照模拟模型来配置特定区域供热系统的供应，同时考虑年度热需求和用户指定的热源。该工具由四个模块组成，用于计算系统具有成本效益的发电概况。它旨在使用一组指定的可再生能源，为区域供热系统运行和规划至关重要的关键参数生成一整年详细的每小时概况，包括热负荷、发电量和存储概况。
•Heat4Future概述了特定地点脱碳区域供热供应的可能性。
•该模拟工具包含四个用于计算系统发电概况的模块：天气和环境数据模块、热负荷模块、缓冲热能存储模块和战略供热规划模块。
•该工具遵循麻省理工学院许可协议，可在GitLab上作为开源存储库获取。
