Holonic Simulation Model of a Modern District Heating System

This paper deals with an idea of the simulation model of the district heating system which is based on Holonic concept. Holonic concept which is in general useful for distributed systems seems to be suitable for the requirements of modern heating networks, referred as Smart Thermal Grid. Such intelligent thermal networks requires good class control system and communications infrastructure. District heating network can be divided into autonomous elements, and for them it is possible to define the roles and relationships between them. This is one of the fundamental prerequisites for creating a distributed system model or control. To create and successfully manage such system has many advantages in comparison with centralized concept. The preparation of this task begins in analyses of the individual heating network elements in detail. This is followed by the definition of the hierarchy and mutual bindings. The preparation of the holonic application has already been started for the key elements of the grid. The analysis focuses on the physical properties and the operating data of individual heat consumers and their connections to other components of the system.