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PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

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pumped storage and flywheels), a back-up diesel generator, and tariff structures<br />

are also available for use.<br />

MERIT is written in Visual C++, and is easy to use thanks to its graphic user<br />

interface. The program allows the user to select an appropriate climate file and<br />

time period for the study, and the desired number <strong>of</strong> timesteps per hour can be<br />

chosen. The time period is chosen by date, and can be anything from one day to<br />

the whole year. To save time when matching, the program can also select<br />

seasonal representative days, weeks or months based on the climate information.<br />

As MERIT already contains many <strong>of</strong> the important basic elements <strong>of</strong> the<br />

procedure outlined above, it is used as the basis for this work. This chapter<br />

describes the existing MERIT system and the changes made to provide the<br />

required functionality.<br />

4.1 Demand Definition<br />

To gain a complete view <strong>of</strong> energy use in an area, the demands for electricity,<br />

heat, hot water, and transport must be considered. Pr<strong>of</strong>iles <strong>of</strong> use for these<br />

different types <strong>of</strong> energy demand and supply are considered at half-hourly<br />

intervals, as electricity and heat demand pr<strong>of</strong>ile information available in the<br />

form <strong>of</strong> metered and load research data is typically defined in this manner [1].<br />

Half-hourly intervals are sufficiently detailed for an initial analysis <strong>of</strong> various<br />

supply options, and further, more in-depth analysis can be carried out once<br />

suitable supply mixes have been found.<br />

A procedure already exists in MERIT to select demand pr<strong>of</strong>iles for electricity,<br />

heat and hot water from a database <strong>of</strong> existing pr<strong>of</strong>iles, or to create new halfhourly<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>iles. To create new pr<strong>of</strong>iles, these may be designed, based on<br />

existing templates held in a database, or by manually inputting the half-hourly<br />

consumption figures, in a part <strong>of</strong> the demand definition section called the Pr<strong>of</strong>ile<br />

Designer. To increase or decrease the magnitude <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ile, whilst<br />

maintaining its shape, an alternative overall daily demand can be applied to the<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>ile. Different pr<strong>of</strong>iles can be defined for different time periods throughout<br />

81

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