Assessing demand response in district heating with waste-heat utilization

Demand response can enable shifting the heat demand profile of consumers in district heating to improve utilization of variable waste-heat sources. Yet, effective demand response may rely heavily on the heating supply, the buildings and their heat control, and the participating share of the building mass. Here, we present an iterative methodology for assessing price-driven demand response during the development of the heating solution of new building areas with district heating and available waste heat. The proposed methodology integrates in hierarchy a social-welfare type formulation for computation of a price signal, model predictive control of the building space heating using the price signal to shift the load, and cost minimization for the district heating operator. The proposed methodology is applied to a building area under development in Trondheim, Norway, where waste heat from a local ice-rink is available. We perform sensitivity analysis on the building area participating in the demand response to assess the effect on the total heat use and costs. Our results show a potential of 13% reduction in operational cost at the expense of 1% increase in energy consumption if the entire residential building stock participates in the program over a representative period of 90 days. • A simplified assessment scheme for demand response in district heating. • Consideration of demand response for increased waste heat utilization. • Social welfare formulation for price signal computation. • Model predictive control of the building space heating. • Case study of Norwegian building area showing up to 13% cost reduction potential.