Smarter Smart District Heating

This article reviews modern district heating systems (DHS), with the main emphasis on the new challenges in modeling, operation, and planning. We give a brief historical overview of evolution of heating systems around the world and provide the description of DHS in the countries where they constitute a substantial component of the energy supply infrastructure. Main modeling approaches are then reviewed. The review is followed by discussion of the major challenges in modern DHS: active consumers, state estimation, control issues, and future challenges of the operation under uncertainties.