Generating Variants of an Energy System
In the following, you will learn how the example model of a district heating supply is extended by an energy supply variant.
The actual case, in which the building is supplied by district heating, is to be compared with a variant in which the heat supply is provided by a gas boiler.
eVariant nodes in TOP-Energy.
The eVariant module evaluates the results of the simulation economically, ecologically, and energetically and presents them clearly.
Continue the started district heating project and create an 
eVariant node in it by right-clicking the 
eProject node in the Project explorer. In the context menu select New → eVariant: variant.
Rename the new eVariant node to Reference case. To do this, open the context menu of the eVariant node with a right-click and select 
Rename.
Drag and drop the already existing 
eSim node onto the eVariant node Reference case. This moves the eSim node under the eVariant node.
Now create a copy of the eVariant node. To do this, right-click on the eVariant node and select 
Duplicate in the context menu. Rename the new node to Variant 1 gas boiler.
Now please delete the following components from the scheme of the Variant 1 gas boiler:
- District_Heating_Supplier,
- Heating_Tariff.
Now your project looks like this:
eVariant module: the eSim module and the 
Scheme. Below the scheme, the used 
components are displayed.
Click on a component to open its forms.
Executing the eVariant and eSim Modules
Once all components have been parameterized, the simulation and evaluation of the two variants Reference case and Variant 1 gas boiler with their eSim modules can be started.
The variant evaluation is performed individually for each eVariant node. Proceed as follows.
- Select the variant in the Project explorer by clicking the eVariant node.
- Click the TOP-Energy application button
Execute module. - In the dialog box that opens, answer the question “Should the simulation be performed before evaluating the variant?” with Yes.
The eVariant progress window shows the progress and completion of the variant evaluation (see the following figure).
On the one hand, the results of the simulation are displayed as Output data in the forms of the components. On the other hand, you see the results of the eVariant evaluation in the forms of the eVariant node.
Results of the Variant Evaluation
The eVariant module evaluates the economic, environmental, and energy data from the components and the eSim node. In doing so, it draws on the results of the simulation.
