Minimal losses in the pipes and a stable supply all year round: these are the ideal situations for any district heating network. To achieve this, the Idiap research institute in Martigny is working hand in hand with Valais service providers – RWB, OIKEN, Altis and Satom – on the development of a software package called Eguzki. Launched in 2019, the development work aims to simulate the operation of the network and its behaviour in the event of variations in demand or expansion. A genuine decision-making tool, Eguzki uses artificial intelligence in particular. It is currently being developed.

District heating networks have a key role to play in the Swiss energy transition. Among other things, they make it possible to recover heat that is usually lost to the environment, such as that produced by the combustion of waste. It is in the interest of the operators of these networks to reduce losses in the pipelines, while ensuring a stable supply all year round. The Eguzki software is able to determine the temperature, pressure and flow rates of water in the pipes in near real time. It integrates weather data and consumption forecasts. This enables network operators to better plan their heat production. This can lead to major energy savings by anticipating the consumption of end users.