Result description
The FLEX4FACT Building-Industry Interaction Toolbox is a Python-based decision-support and modelling suite that quantifies and optimises energy interactions between industrial production and buildings at facility and district scales. It provides EnergyPlus simulations and archetype-based modelling to evaluate demand response (DR) strategies and the reuse of production waste heat. The toolbox generates hourly heat demand profiles, and computes key performance indicators including energy use, peak loads, comfort (ASHRAE 55-2004), and waste heat uilization rate. It supports two facility-scale pathways-(I) waste-heat DR for space conditioning via dynamic setpoints, thermal mass load shifting, LP-optimisation-based thermal storage dispatch, and peak shaving; and (II) production-related internal-gains DR via setpoint adjustments. At district scale (III), minimal inputs are used to estimate aggregate space-heating demands and match them to industrial waste-heat availability.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- Use of research Infrastructure
- Collaboration
- Fellowship to advance my/our research
More case studies and business cases
- Research and Technology Organisations
- Academia/ Universities
R&D, Technology and Innovation aspects
The current toolbox has been applied to various industrial use cases already. Future steps are:
- The development of a GUI
- The implementation of CO2 and cost implications
- The inclusion of industrial building archetypes
