Spatial aggregation and visualisation of urban heat demand using graph theory. An example from Hamburg, Germany.

Main Article Content

Ivan Dochev
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0299-3558
Hannes Seller
Irene Peters

Abstract

Because of the physical properties of heat energy, information about the spatial pattern of building heat demand is important for designing climate protection measures in the heating sector (efficiency improvements and renewable energy integration). Many cities in Germany currently prepare ‘heat demand cadastres’ – thematic maps, depicting building heat demand. The growing trend towards open data points into the direction of making these cadastres public, so that different actors can make use of them. However, making such data public may violate the legal requirement of protecting private data. We present a way of tackling this problem with an approach for the aggregation of spatially represented heat demand. Using an algorithm based on graph theory, we group buildings such that the tracing of energetic characteristics and behaviour to individuals is rendered unfeasible. Our method also allows additional constraints to be introduced, for example, aggregating with respect to plot boundaries. We discuss how the building groups can be visualised in a map by presenting a method of generating customised geometries for each group. Finally, we present a visualisation of both specific heat demand (in kWh/(m2*a)) and total heat demand (in kWh/a) in one and the same map. This aids the analysis of more complex questions involving energy efficiency and heat supply.

Article Details

How to Cite
Dochev, I., Seller, H., & Peters, I. (2019). Spatial aggregation and visualisation of urban heat demand using graph theory.: An example from Hamburg, Germany. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, 24. https://doi.org/10.5278/ijsepm.3346
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Ivan Dochev, HafenCity University

Ivan Dochev has a M.Sc. in urban planning from HafenCity University Hamburg and is currently a PhD student with the topic “Energy policy analysis with a building stock model based on spatial interpolation and microsimulation”. He is currently part of the GEWISS Project Hamburg, financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the Hamburg Ministry of Environment and Energy. His interests and expertise lie in building simulation, GIS and energy efficiency

Hannes Seller, HafenCity University

Hannes Seller has a M.Sc. in Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning (REAP) from HafenCity University Hamburg and is currently a PhD student with the topic “Typologies of Urban Form for Urban Sustainability Planning”. He is currently part of the GEWISS Project Hamburg, financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the Hamburg Ministry of Environment and Energy. His interests and expertise lie in data visualization, GIS and energy efficiency.

Irene Peters, HafenCity University

Irene Peters studied economics and philosophy in Germany and the U.S. and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Clark University, MA (1994), with a focus on econometrics and modelling. She spent her work life at Tellus Institute for Resource and Environmental Strategies in Boston, U.S. (1985-1997), EAWAG (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology) (1997-2002), and as professor for Infrastructure Planning at TUHH (Hamburg University of Technology) (since 2003) and HCU (HafenCity University Hamburg) (since 2006). She teaches in Urban Planning and Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning, an interdisciplinary international M.Sc. programme. Her research interests are technical urban services planning and urban modelling. Her work in advisory committees includes (to name a few) „System Integration for Novel Sanitation Systems“ of the German Association for Urban Water, „Climate Protection and Energy“ of the International Building Exhibition Hamburg, Institute for Housing and Environment, Darmstadt