The core of the SWIVT controller is a mathematical formulation of an optimization problem, which represents all relevant energetic structures and conditions of the residential district and the energy system. Here, the approaches of mixed-integer linear programming are used, which have proven to be extremely promising for energy systems with energy storage components. The objective function of the problem can be individually defined with regard to both, economic and ecological aspects of operation and design, so that different goals can be aimed at with the optimization.
The energy system implemented in the SWIVT controller can consist of different renewable and conventional energy components. Examples are CHPs, boilers, heat pumps, geothermal probes, photovoltaic systems and electrical and thermal storages of different types. The selection and dimensioning of potentially possible components as well as their operation is then optimized. This is the basis for the two main applications of the SWIVT controller. On the one hand, it can be used for the integrated planning of new residential districts and their energy systems, as it is practiced in several iterations within the SWIVT projects. On the other hand, the generation of optimized “schedules” for existing energy systems in real operation can be used to generate target values for energy components.
In addition to the optimization core, a comprehensive evaluation module was developed, which analyzes and presents the design and operation of defined energy system variants in detail on the basis of twenty years of operation. Besides detailed results, summarizing ecological and economic key figures are generated, which allow a quick and “fair” comparison of different variants of the energy system.
The SWIVT-Controller is constantly being further improved at the IMS with different partners. For a better usability there is a graphical user interface to start and monitor optimizations as well as a standardized creation of different result files.