DIGITALISATION OF THE DANISH DISTRICT HEATING SECTOR
CASE CATALOGUE 2023
“THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE PERFORMS FAR BETTER IN TERMS OF OPERATING HOURS THAN THE OLD SYSTEM, WHERE THE DISTRICT HEATING COMPANY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SERVER OPERATION. DUE TO THE HIGH UPTIME, THE SYSTEM CONTRIBUTES TO MORE STABLE OPERATION OF THE HEATING STATION.”
FREDERIK STJERNHOLM BUSK, ENGINEER, TREFOR
DIAGRAM OF THE SCADA INSTALLATION
AI - Data from ENFOR returned to Science Cloud/SCADA – Supply temperature [C] –
AA - Data from ENFOR returned to Science Cloud/ENFOR Heat output (MW) Supply temperature (C) Return temperature (C) Return Temperature (C) Flow (M3/h)
District heating server
AA
API
API
Integration Platform
Science cloud
AI
PLC
– (24 data taps) – Alivecounter
TREFOR Temperature optimisation through cloud solution CASE 2
Requirements: – Frequency of max. 5 min – Two-way communication
Novotek
EWII IT (specialist)
CDK
ENFOR
TRFOR Varme
AA - Flow tags
AI - Return tags
Internal
The above communication diagram shows the type of data to be exchanged between the SCADA installation (district heating server) and the company ENFOR that supplies tem- perature optimisation software. The system works in a way, where TREFOR Varme's district heating server sends data to Science Cloud (hosted by Center Denmark) that forwards the data to ENFOR. ENFOR then uses the data to calculate an optimal supply temper- ature from the station and returns the results to Science Cloud. Science Cloud then forwards the results to TREFOR Varme's district heating server.
The largest barrier in the project was to ensure IT security across many suppliers and systems. At TREFOR, which is part of a multi-utilities company, IT security is the no. 1 priority in developing technical solutions. Therefore, it is important to include your IT security officers from the very beginning; otherwise, the project may have to be postponed for several months. The system offers several benefits. Heat loss is expected to be reduced by 2 percent if the trend for temperature optimi- sation (TSO) operations in spring 2022 continues compared with TSO operations from the old system. A positive spill-over effect of this project is a reduction of internal resources to manage TSO operations. This is pri- marily because the old TSO solution was placed on internal servers, and we were therefore responsible for maintaining and operating the server ourselves. Furthermore, it was more difficult for the supplier of the system to access the server, because it was connected to the production environment.
Challenge TREFOR Varme is obligated to operate the district heating system in the best possible way. This requires automat- ed tools that can contribute to operations optimisation, including temperature optimisation, in which integration between production environment and external suppliers is a necessity. Through the R&D project HEAT 4.0, TREFOR wanted to in- tegrate the production environment with a cloud solution to create a platform that can use tools from different suppliers without having to invest in more integration solutions. Solution The Heat 4.0 R&D project aims to develop intelligent soft- ware solutions that can make district heating more efficient, and throughout the project, TREFOR Varme has focused on the following data-driven tracks: • Efficiency improvements focusing on reducing trans mission losses. • Heat production and production planning focusing on utilising the possibilities in reduced supply and return temperatures. • Plug and play-software focusing on developing a cloud- based algorithm to enable simple and secure massive data exchange between various IT systems.
The case was established with outset in TREFOR Varme's need for temperature optimisation and the three focus areas above. The aim of the case was to integrate a SCADA system with a cloud solution to be able to receive data for temperature optimisation via data exchange with an external supplier through the cloud solution. Results After establishing the functional needs, a meeting was held with every conceivable supplier of the applications/systems expected to be part of the solution. The suppliers, including TREFOR Varme's own IT department, focused on securing the following needs: 1. IT security – IT security must be in place when opening communication between the production environment and a cloud solution. 2. Uptime – The system as a whole should have high uptime. The system should not require much support/ maintenance for the district heating company. In collaboration with suppliers, TREFOR outlined a commu- nication diagram for the case. The diagram shows the needs (data flow) and the applications/suppliers involved with each area of responsibility.
These results are used to control setpoints in the SCADA installation.
The IT department in TREFOR requires an integration platform between the district heating server and Science Cloud that can validate data sent from outside and ensure that no unauthorised people have access to our production environment.
INFORMATION
Meters Address Email Phone
Company Solution Providers Employees Heat
30.357 Kokbjerg 30, 6000 Kolding, Denmark trefor@trefor.dk +45 70 21 11 00
TREFOR NIRAS & ENFOR 14 714 GWh
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