VDI4655 Load Profiles

Overview

The VDI 4655 module implements load profile generation for residential buildings according to the German engineering standard VDI 4655. Heat and power demand profiles are generated based on typical days and building characteristics.

Key Features:

  • Generates heating, hot water and power demand profiles for residential buildings

  • Supports both single-family (EFH) and multi-family houses (MFH)

  • Considers weather data, based on the building location in Germany

  • Accounts for seasonal variations and holidays

  • Customizable temperature limits for season definitions

  • Adjustable temporal resolution (e.g., hourly, 15-minute intervals)

Example Usage

Here’s a basic example of how to use the VDI 4655 module:

from oemof.demand import vdi

# Define houses
houses = [
    {
        "name": "EFH_1",
        "house_type": "EFH",
        "N_Pers": 3,
        "N_WE": 1,
        "Q_Heiz_a": 6000,
        "Q_TWW_a": 1500,
        "W_a": 5250,
        "summer_temperature_limit": 15,
        "winter_temperature_limit": 5,
    }
]

# Create region
region = vdi.Region(
    2017,
    climate=vdi.Climate().from_try_data(try_region=4),
    houses=houses,
    resample_rule="1h"
)

# Generate load curves
load_curves = region.get_load_curve_houses()

House Parameters

Required parameters for each house:

  • name: Unique identifier for the house

  • house_type: Either “EFH” (single-family) or “MFH” (multi-family)

  • N_Pers: Number of persons, up to 12 (relevant for EFH)

  • N_WE: Number of apartments, up to 40 (relevant for MFH)

  • Q_Heiz_a: Annual heating demand in kWh

  • Q_TWW_a: Annual hot water demand in kWh

  • W_a: Annual electricity demand in kWh

Optional parameters:

  • summer_temperature_limit: Temperature threshold for summer season (default: 15°C)

  • winter_temperature_limit: Temperature threshold for winter season (default: 5°C)

Weather Data

The module uses German test reference year (TRY) weather data by ‘Deutscher Wetterdienst’ (DWD) for determining the daily temperature and cloud coverage. You can:

  • Use the weather data from one of the 15 TRY regions by DWD from 2010

    • Specify a TRY region number (try_region parameter), or

    • Use geographical coordinates to determine the TRY region (requires geopandas)

  • Provide your own weather file (file_weather parameter), adhering to the standard of the TRY weather data published in 2016 by DWD (available at https://kunden.dwd.de/obt/)

Further Reading

For more details about the VDI 4655 standard, refer to:

  • VDI 4655: Reference load profiles of single-family and multi-family houses for the use of CHP systems

  • May 2008 (ICS 91.140.01)

  • Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V.