HeatCheck aims to develop a scalable, commercial-grade, open-source, AI-driven toolchain that merges meter data with ubiquitous wireless heat cost allocator data to optimize heating systems in apartment buildings. District heating operators have focused on supply temperatures and flows to satisfy various demand profiles. However, they typically overlook end-users and substations as beyond their control. Thus, buildings are bottlenecks in the transition to low-temperature district heating.

The HeatCheck toolchain empowers building owners to operate apartment buildings with unprecedented efficiency, in turn, paving the path for low-risk, near-term investments in renewable energy sources and large-scale investments in heat pumps in district heating networks. Ista and Techem controls roughly two-thirds of the Danish market for allocating heat costs in apartments, and combined provide heat metering in 25 million apartments globally.

HeatCheck seeks to leverage that massive data to detect and diagnose faulty heating systems automatically, optimize central controls to constrain heat losses and minimize harm from misuse, improve service offerings using digital-twin-based analytics and actively shift peak loads. The HeatCheck project provides a unique opportunity for heat cost allocation companies, district heating companies, building operators and research institutions to develop new services generating novel revenue streams and ensuring a cost-effective green transition.

WP1: Project management
Coordination of meetings (e.g. steering committee meetings, work package leader meetings, and general assemblies), reporting to IFD and communicating internally.

WP2: Benchmarking
WP2 establishes measurements, baselines and benchmarks of the case buildings. Optimal heating temperatures from preliminary algorithms are implemented and demonstrated

WP3: Data Infrastructure

WP4: AI-driven Heating Control
WP4 builds upon cyber-physical models  - combining properties of heating system with data – and fault detection and diagnostics algorithms to improve control,  minimize operation temperatures and constrain heat losses. Cyber-physical models offers digital-twin-based analytics, indicating the impact of small cost- effective physical alterations to reduce critical bottlenecks, such as replacing a specific radiator or installing a pressure control valve. This task will also indicate the energy flexibility potential from implementing a ‘smart controller’, capable of reducing supply temperatures below the calculated minimum during peak periods while increase the setpoints during off-peak periods

WP5: Users, Value and Market
WP5 has the concrete tasks of engaging building personnel in the development of the HeatCheck toolchain and documenting HeatCheck’s realized and expected economic impact on stakeholders based on results from case buildings, and innovating business models and go-to-market strategies to leverage the toolchain’s added value (T11)

WP6: Communication
This WP coordinates publications in scientific journals and industry media and establishes a process for public releases of the HeatCheck toolchain. It publishes ‘success stories’ from the case buildings.

Deliverable 2: Full documentation on access, handling, privacy on CenterDenmark's data platform
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