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QuantEEFlex

Quantifying the economic value of energy flexibility in urban districts through digital twins and Living Labs

Projektbeschreibung

QuantEEFlex zielt darauf ab, den wirtschaftlichen, technischen und ökologischen Wert von Energieflexibilität in Stadtquartieren zu quantifizieren. Durch die Kombination von Methoden wie digitalen Zwillingen, regelbasierten Steuerungsstrategien und Living Labs verfolgt dieses Projekt einen ganzheitlichen Ansatz zur Optimierung städtischer Energiesysteme. Flexibilität, ein Kernthema von QuantEEFlex, gilt als entscheidender Katalysator auf dem Weg zur Dekarbonisierung in städtischen Gebieten. Durch die Erforschung des komplexen Zusammenspiels verschiedener Elemente, einschließlich dezentraler Energieressourcen, demand-side management, Wasserstoffspeicherung und Netzdynamik, soll das Potenzial für wirtschaftliche Vorteile bei gleichzeitiger Förderung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit untersucht werden. Um das Replikationspotenzial flexibler und intelligenter Stadtteile zu nutzen, zielt das Projekt auf die Entwicklung eines Flexibilitätsbewertungs- und Planungsinstruments ab, das eine effiziente Analyse und praktische Umsetzung flexibler Steuerungsstrategien ermöglicht.

Abstract

QuantEEFlex aims at quantifying the economic, technical and environmental value of energy flexibility within urban districts. Leveraging a combination of approaches such as digital twins, rule-based control strategies, and Living Labs, this project employs holistic approach to optimizing urban energy systems. Flexibility, a core focus of QuantEEFlex, emerges as a critical catalyst in the journey towards decarbonisation in urban districts. By exploring the intricate interplay between various elements, including distributed energy resources, demand-side management, hydrogen storage and grid dynamics, it seeks to explore the potential for economic benefits while advancing environmental sustainability. For leveraging the replication potential of flexible and smart districts, the project aims at developing a flexibility assessment and planning tool, allowing efficient analysis and practical implementation of flexible control strategies.

Endberichtkurzfassung

QuantEEFlex investigated how flexibility in urban districts can be used to integrate renewable energy more efficiently, reduce energy costs and support future-proof energy-system planning. The project combined digital modelling, optimisation and Living Lab applications in Austria and Türkiye. Photovoltaic generation, heat pumps, electric-vehicle charging, battery storage and different forms of local electricity sharing were assessed as complementary sources of flexibility.

A central project result is the development of a digital flexibility-planning approach that combines dynamic building simulation with mathematical optimisation. The model represents the thermal behaviour of buildings and heat pumps and determines how electricity consumption can be shifted to lower-price periods while considering indoor comfort. Depending on the control strategy, annual gross electricity-cost savings of around 4–8% were achieved in the simulations. At the same time, the analyses showed that overly aggressive optimisation can lead to comfort violations or higher energy consumption. A six-hour rolling-horizon strategy was identified as a balanced solution between economic savings, energy use and thermal comfort.

The Austrian work focused on the Werk Möllersdorf development site. A key finding was that organisational and metering solutions can create more value than stationary battery storage. For the analysed construction area, a 50 kWh battery reduced annual costs by only around 1–2% and did not achieve payback within the assumed 15-year lifetime. Dynamic-price operation could even increase total costs because of additional power peaks and feed-in restrictions. By contrast, collective use of locally generated PV electricity through a Gemeinschaftliche Erzeugungsanlage increased the self-consumption rate from 13% to 62%, raised self-sufficiency from 4% to 18% and reduced annual electricity costs by approximately 11%. A local renewable energy community achieved a similar physical result and a cost reduction of about 9%.

In Türkiye, QuantEEFlex was implemented in a real-world Living Lab operated with the distribution system operator OEDAS in Tepebasi, Eskisehir. The pilot combined photovoltaic generation, two battery storage systems, a V2G-capable electric-vehicle charging station and a grid connection. A hybrid energy-management approach was developed in which the larger battery was optimised for load shifting, peak reduction and electricity-cost minimisation, while the smaller battery was controlled by simple rules to smooth short-term grid fluctuations. The tests showed that assigning different roles to the two batteries improved PV utilisation, reduced grid peaks and electricity costs, and avoided unnecessary battery cycling.

The project findings were translated into practical recommendations for real-estate developers, planners, energy-system operators and distribution system operators. QuantEEFlex showed that metering architecture, grid constraints, contractual responsibilities and future operating models must be clarified early in the planning process. It also demonstrated that flexibility assessments need to be updated iteratively because tenant profiles, charging concepts, PV layouts and technical planning can change substantially during project development.

The resulting planning methodology and replication guidelines support more robust investment decisions and help avoid technically attractive but economically weak solutions. They also provide a basis for future consulting services and follow-up research. Overall, QuantEEFlex shows that district-level flexibility can make an important contribution to renewable-energy integration, but that its value depends less on individual technologies than on the coordinated design of technical systems, control strategies, tariffs, metering structures and stakeholder roles.

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