A Workflow for Thermal and Electrical Co-Simulation of Energy Systems

The shift towards a low-carbon society will fundamentally transform the architecture of energy systems, evolving from a traditional standalone hierarchical and centralised model to an integrated and distributed framework. The study and analysis of these systems necessitate collaborative efforts among researchers spanning various disciplines within the energy sector. The integration of disparate disciplines into a unique tool for modelling and analysing such a complex multi-energy system requires effort. This paper explored the influence of electric demands produced by Heat Pump systems, used to satisfy the thermal request for heating and cooling from standard buildings, on the electricity grid. Due to the lack of tools capable of simulating overall effects occurring in Multi-Energy Systems, a co-simulation method that combines thermal and electrical phenomena was realised. The digital models for thermal and electrical simulations are first presented: the thermal models are developed within the specialized software TRNSYS; the electrical models are developed within the specialized software NEPLAN. The workflow to link the two calculation tools and perform the co-simulation of the multi-energy system is then described.