Evolution of and additional functionalities to the city energy planning platform MEU

The MEU GIS-enabled web-platform has been developed in close collaboration with four Swiss cities: it enables detailed monitoring and planning for both energy demand and supply at individual building and neighborhood level (http://meu.epfl.ch). Whereas the first version of the MEU platform allowed launching calculations for only up to several hundreds of buildings at a time, the refactored version presently gives access to entire cities comprising several thousands of buildings with the same level of detail. On one hand, the code architecture has been thoroughly revised and consolidated while, on the other hand, the databases for the four partner cities are being completed, checked, corrected and eventually made completely available for several years. A large test campaign is thus underway on the refactored version of the MEU platform. In the upcoming months, the latter will present all the functionalities of the prototype version, i.e. include the construction and evaluation of complex energy scenarios. New functionalities are concomitantly being added to the MEU platform, in particular at the level of the energy networks. Indeed, in the prototype version, the latter were only displayed but no network attributes (except geo-referencing) were neither introduced nor used in calculations. The envisioned new functionalities will enable to start filling this important usability gap by adding network detailed attributes to the database structure and by allowing pre-dimensioning calculations based on selected energy scenarios and including the networks characteristics (available power, temperatures/pressures, limiting dimensions, aso.). The energy supply side aspects will thus be quantitatively be taken into account, along with the implications in terms of network extension/densification precisely determined. The natural gas network, which is – and shall continue to be - broadly present in all four partner cities, representing up to 30 % of the overall final territorial energy consumption, will be used as the first test case, in close collaboration with local multi-energy utilities

Système de management énergétique territorial ::une plateforme web cartographique pour la planification de la politique énergétique locale

La plateforme MEU est un outil au service des collectivités, des entreprises d’approvisionnement en énergie et des gestionnaires de réseaux de distribution. L’outil crée une «photographie énergétique » détaillée de la ville pour un instant donné. Il permet de monitorer et planifier tant la demande que l’approvisionnement énergétique d’un bâtiment, d’un quartier ou d’une ville. Via la création de scénarios, l’utilisateur pourra ensuite prendre les meilleures décisions énergétiques possibles pour le futur. La plateforme sera commercialiser en fin 2016 par Navitas Consilium SA

The MEU web platform ::a tool dedicated to urban energy management

The MEU GIS-enabled web-platform [1] has been developed in close collaboration with four Swiss cities. The tool enables detailed monitoring and planning for both energy demand and supply at individual building, neighborhood and whole city scale (http://meu.epfl.ch). This web-platform acts like an interface between different tools and allows to establish detailed energy balances for entire cities comprising several thousand buildings. In its present configuration, the MEU tool does not allow yet to simulate energy networks behaviors, based on the real or projected energy demand in an urban zone. In order to meet this need from energy utilities partners, a specific data model, as well as an user-interface giving access to networks attributes and edition/simulation tools were developed, which will be then functionally integrated in the MEU platform. The idea is to create a “Natural Gas Networks” module built for energy utilities. The objectives of this project within the larger MEU endeavor were the following: - Create a platform gathering topological and geo-referenced data - Develop a gas network pre-design/planning methodology including demand characteristics and gas supply for buildings in a selected area. - Interface with gas distribution system operators existing tools and add new functionalities within a single platform. - Include gas distribution system operator constraints and operational realities in the pre-design/planning process. In order to achieve those objectives, two tools and several visualization concepts have been created, along with an ad hoc data model: (i) a data model able to allow data import, storage and centralization from energy utilities databases: networks, buildings demands and specifications, as well as interface between edition, simulation and visualization tools; (ii) a network edition tool prototype (LEAFLET JavaScript based web page), which allows to display a network on a map, to add/delete or drag&drop pipes, nodes, consumption and biogas production/injection points and pressure let down stations; (iii) a network flows, and pressures simulation device (MATLAB® compressible fluids model) which computes the network behavior for each hour (pressures, flows, power equivalent and temperatures in each point); (iv) a detailed mock-up for visualization and display concept with interactive and GIS data: buildings area, networks paths, pipes characteristics, results from simulation, studied area energy balance, etc. This paper focuses more specifically on the visualization and network edition tool, as well as simulation results interactive representation on the MEU platform

Towards pre-dimensioning of natural gas networks on a web-platform

The MEU GIS-enabled web-platform has been developed in close collaboration with four Swiss cities: it enables detailed monitoring and planning for both energy demand and supply at individual building and neighborhood level (http://meu.epfl.ch). This web-platform gives access to entire cities comprising several thousands of buildings. In its actual configuration, this tool does not allow to pre-design networks depending on the energy demand of existing or futures infrastructures. Indeed, in MEU, gas networks or districts heating networks are handled in a simple steady-state way. This would in particular mean that, in scenarios, buildings can be arbitrary connected to energy networks without any territorial, power or technologic compatibility verification. Data about the amount of energy supplied by the gas or heat network in different parts of the studied cities are available but some data like the maximum power available, pipe’s diameters, parameters of pressure or heat loss and levels of temperatures, speed or flow rate are not known or reachable. In another hand, data about cooling and heating needs for a building are already known or estimated for each hour of the year by some modules of the platform. The precision already exist and we will use it to simulate the behavior of a gas network, and calculate all the flow rates, injections and consumptions for an urban zone. The idea is to create a new module allowing to test different pre-designed scenarios, to simulate the behavior of each scenario in order to calculate and display dynamics data for the considered network. We are targeting to create new functionalities for city energy manager in order to help them to design new network and expand present network or for system diagnostic purpose. Our aim is to allow users to create new buildings, add or delete nodes and pipes, modify installed heating power for an existing building and add feed-in of biogas. The resulting new network will be then tested and its behavior simulated to see if the means of production matches the demand and if the pressure is adequate in reducing stations to pipe the gas to consumers. The network tool will be useful to determine if a new district can be connected to the existent network or if the actual network need to be densified. It will also help to estimate the effect of a missing pipe due to road maintenance. The first step for the creation of those new functionalities consists in developing an operational module prototype for gas network management. The first phase of a test for a new scenario is the creation of the new state for the considered network. The user will be able to create his gas network based on the actual installation, pipes and structures. Then come the simulation phase. The user can choose the step, the duration and the period of the simulation. The simulation is based on a perfect and compressible gas model. The composition of the gas is considered as pure methane. The model include linear pressure loss equation and is built on a conservation of the molar flow rate through each node. Heating power are calculated for each building using a MEU module building physics software which simulates the energy demand by correlating real annual data from utilities and hourly simulated data. Feed-in gas flow rates are so determined. The studied system is limited to medium pressure (< 5bar) and low pressure networks (< 0.050 bar). Distribution pipelines between 40 bar and 50 bar are not include in the model. The simulation calculates pressure, molar flow rate and density of gas for every node of the network. The resolution of the equations system for each node of the network is made by a MATLAB® function (fsolve) using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The raw results of the simulation are then exploited and converted to graphics. The user can choose nodes and the associate variable (pressure, speed, flow rate, etc…) that catch his attention and require to be added to graphics. We are currently testing the model using a comparison between the simulation of our model results and the results of a NEPLAN® simulation for the same neighborhood

How Can Ski Resorts Get Smart? Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainable Winter Tourism in the European Alps

Climate change and the call for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the efficient use of (renewable) energy, and more resilient winter tourism regions, forces ski resorts across the European Alps to look for “smart” approaches to transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Drawing on the smart-city concept and considering the different historical developments of Alpine resorts, the Smart Altitude Decision-Making Toolkit was developed using a combination of an energy audit tool, a WebGIS, and collaborative and innovative living labs installed in Les Orres (France), Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), Krvavec (Slovenia), and Verbier (Switzerland). This step-by-step Decision-Making Toolkit enables ski resorts to get feedback on their energy demand, an overview of the locally available sources of renewable energy, and insights regarding their potential for improving their energy efficiency by low-carbon interventions. The Decision-Making Toolkit is suitable for knowledge transfer between stakeholders within living labs and moreover provides the flexibility for tailor-made low-carbon strategies adapting to the unique assets and situatedness of ski resorts