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AI DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING (KNOWN AS AI CHIREI), WHICH USES AI TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS AND COSTS, HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND A DEMONSTRATION TEST STARTED.
NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD, NIKKEN SEKKEI RESEARCH INSTITUTE LTD, TOHO GAS CO, SUMITOMO SHOJI MACHINEX CO AND ARAYAHAVE DEVELOPED AI DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING (COMMONLY KNOWN AS AI CHIREI), WHICH USES AI TO SOLVE EXISTING PROBLEMS IN DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING. AI CHIREI" WILL BE TESTED IN NAGOYA SAKAE 3-CHOME NORTH DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING FROM MAY 2022.
DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING IS AN IMPORTANT URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM THAT IMPROVES ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND DISASTER PREVENTION PERFORMANCE BY PRODUCING ENERGY FOR HEATING AND COOLING IN BULK AND SUPPLYING IT TO MULTIPLE BUILDINGS IN AN AREA WHILE UTILISING UNUSED LOCAL ENERGY. DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING IS ATTRACTING ATTENTION IN THE THERMAL ENERGY SECTOR BECAUSE OF ITS POTENTIAL TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS.
■ Challenges facing existing district heating and cooling systems.
DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING IN JAPAN HAS BEEN INTRODUCED SINCE THE 1970S AS A COUNTERMEASURE AGAINST AIR POLLUTION CAUSED BY RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND THERE ARE CURRENTLY 133 SUCH FACILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE ENERGY-SAVING PERFORMANCE OF THESE EXISTING FACILITIES HAS BEEN DECLINING, WITH APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THEM BEING BUILT 20 YEARS AFTER COMPLETION. IN ADDITION, IT IS DIFFICULT, EVEN WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF EXPERIENCED OPERATORS, TO ACCURATELY PREDICT THE SITUATION ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE AND OPERATE THE HEAT SOURCE, SO IT IS ESSENTIAL TO SAVE CO2 EMISSIONS THROUGH REFURBISHMENT, INCLUDING REVIEWING THE OPERATING METHOD. FURTHERMORE, NOT ONLY IN EXISTING SYSTEMS, BUT ALSO IN DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS THAT ARE NEWLY BUILT IN LARGE-SCALE DEVELOPMENTS, IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY TO OPERATE THE SYSTEM EFFICIENTLY BY REFLECTING THE HEATING AND COOLING CONDITIONS ON THE CONSUMER SIDE.
■DEVELOPMENT OF 'AI CHIREI' FOR CO2 SAVING, LOW COST AND SHORT CONSTRUCTION PERIOD.
THE NEWLY DEVELOPED AI CHIREI AIMS TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS THROUGH AI: SIMPLY INSTALL AN EDGE PC WITH AN EMBEDDED AI PROGRAMME AND HAVE IT READ THE OPERATION DATA, ENABLING CO2 EMISSIONS TO BE REDUCED AT LOW COST AND IN A SHORT CONSTRUCTION PERIOD. AS THE EDGE PCS ARE SIMPLY INSTALLED, OPERATION DOES NOT STOP.
■ THREE AI PROPOSALS.
(i) Heat and water demand forecasting AI
To achieve energy savings, it is very important to eliminate waste by operating only the required number of heat source units when necessary. The AI developed this time enables the amount of demand (heat and water supply) required for heating and cooling to be predicted several hours ahead, so that the minimum number of units required can be operated.
(ii) AI for judging water temperature
The AI judges the indoor temperature and heat load status on the consumer side and operates to raise the cold water temperature during cooling and lower the hot water temperature during heating. This improves the efficiency of the heat source equipment.
(iii) AI for judging the energy efficiency of heat source equipment
The energy-saving performance of heat source equipment declines as it is used over time, and it becomes difficult to know which equipment can be used to save energy. AI judges which equipment has the highest energy-saving performance at the moment and prioritises its operation.
■ About this demonstration test
AS THE FIRST STEP IN THE DEMONSTRATION OF AI CHIREI, A DEMONSTRATION OF THE THREE AI'S (I) HEAT AND WATER DEMAND FORECASTING AI WILL BE CONDUCTED AT THE SAKAE 3-CHOME NORTH DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING FACILITY OPERATED BY TOHO GAS.
Outline of the demonstration experiment.
1. location of the demonstration experiment
Nagoya Sakae 3-chome North District District heating and cooling system
2. demonstration period (planned)
May 2022 - March 2024
Roles in this demonstration project
Nikken Sekkei & Nikken Sekkei Research Institute: planning of demonstration scheme, design of renovation, verification of effectiveness
Sumitomo Shoji Machinex and Araya: construction and customisation of AI programmes
Toho Gas: Provision of demonstration field, identification of issues in actual operation
4. about the AI developed
For the AI for heat and water demand forecasting, a simulated operation was conducted to forecast historical data. We have confirmed that it can predict 99% of heat demand.
■ Towards carbon-neutral urban development
BASED ON THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM THIS DEMONSTRATION, NIKKEN SEKKEI WILL ALSO UTILISE ITS COMMISSIONING*1 TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IT HAS DEVELOPED OVER MANY YEARS, TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS. THE AI CHIREI DEVELOPED THIS TIME CAN ALSO BE APPLIED TO HEAT SOURCE FACILITIES IN LARGE-SCALE DEVELOPMENT BUILDINGS AND HOSPITALS.
1 Target performance, target values and conditions for their realisation are clarified during the demonstration phase, based on which the content of the demonstration and the state of operation are reviewed and the realised performance is quantitatively evaluated.
See also Reference: Arayafor more information on air conditioning optimisation solutions.
