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5cbe9a7
add BadPointPressureLiftController tutorial notebook for district hea…
JonasPfeiffer123 May 22, 2025
abe6a37
Merge branch 'e2nIEE:develop' into Tutorials-Examples-District-Heatin…
JonasPfeiffer123 Aug 28, 2025
a5269ab
Create MinimumSupplyTemperatureController.ipynb
JonasPfeiffer123 Aug 28, 2025
a595d70
The previous commit was an accident in this branch.
JonasPfeiffer123 Aug 28, 2025
5e6281a
Added BadPointPressureController reference in the documentation
JonasPfeiffer123 Sep 2, 2025
a6913ca
Merge branch 'e2nIEE:develop' into Tutorials-Examples-District-Heatin…
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 4, 2025
7a7813f
feat: Add BadPointPressureLiftController as standalone controller module
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 4, 2025
b7361cc
style: Remove trailing whitespace in BadPointPressureLiftController
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 4, 2025
a1ada19
fix: Remove unnecessary whitespace in BadPointPressureLiftController
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 4, 2025
2ec057f
Merge branch 'develop' into Tutorials-Examples-District-Heating-Contr…
EPrade Nov 5, 2025
03f323f
Merge branch 'develop' into Tutorials-Examples-District-Heating-Contr…
SimonRubenDrauz Nov 7, 2025
6b750f5
test: Add test suite for BadPointPressureLiftController
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025
21fad29
test: Organize controller test in control subdirectory
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025
4c3de27
Merge branch 'develop' into Tutorials-Examples-District-Heating-Contr…
EPrade Nov 7, 2025
8f99a6f
refactor: Improve BadPointPressureLiftController implementation
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025
51c0b0c
Merge branch 'Tutorials-Examples-District-Heating-Controllers-' of ht…
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025
286731c
docs: Convert controller docstrings to Sphinx reST format
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025
f35bf41
refactor: Clean up whitespace in BadPointPressureLiftController press…
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025
bd56886
Add dual-mode operation to BadPointPressureLiftController
JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 24, 2025
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11 changes: 10 additions & 1 deletion doc/source/controller/controller_classes.rst
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -23,4 +23,13 @@ This is used to read the data from a DataSource and write it to a network.

.. _ConstControl:
.. autoclass:: pandapower.control.controller.const_control.ConstControl
:members:
:members:

Custom Controller Example: BadPointPressureLiftController
==========================================================

A practical example of a custom controller implementation is provided in the Jupyter Notebook
`BadPointPressureLiftController.ipynb <https://github.com/e2nIEE/pandapipes/tree/develop/tutorials/BadPointPressureLiftController.ipynb>`_.
This notebook demonstrates how to create a controller that maintains a minimum pressure difference at the worst point in a district heating network, which is a common requirement in district heating systems.

The BadPointPressureLiftController is now available as a standalone controller class in :code:`pandapipes.control` and serves as both a template for user-defined controllers and as an important tool for operating thermal grids with pandapipes.
1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions src/pandapipes/control/__init__.py
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -3,3 +3,4 @@
# Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.

from pandapipes.control.run_control import run_control
from pandapipes.control.controller import BadPointPressureLiftController
1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions src/pandapipes/control/controller/__init__.py
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
from pandapipes.control.controller.bad_point_pressure_lift_controller import BadPointPressureLiftController
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
from pandapower.control.basic_controller import BasicCtrl

class BadPointPressureLiftController(BasicCtrl):
"""
A controller for maintaining the pressure difference at the worst point (German: Differenzdruckregelung im Schlechtpunkt) in the network.

The BadPointPressureLiftController is a custom controller designed for district heating networks
modeled with pandapipes. Its main purpose is to maintain a minimum pressure difference at the
network's "worst point"—the heat exchanger with the lowest pressure difference (Schlechtpunktregelung).

Key Features:
- **Automatic Worst Point Detection:** Identifies the heat exchanger with the lowest pressure difference where heat flow is present.
- **Pressure Regulation:** Adjusts the circulation pump's lift and flow pressures to ensure the pressure difference at the worst point meets a specified minimum target.
- **Proportional Control:** Uses a proportional gain to determine the adjustment magnitude based on the deviation from the target pressure difference.
- **Standby Mode:** If no heat flow is detected, the controller switches the pump to a standby mode with minimum lift and flow pressures.
- **Convergence Check:** Determines if the pressure difference is within a specified tolerance of the target, signaling convergence.

Args:
net (pandapipesNet): The pandapipes network.
circ_pump_pressure_idx (int, optional): Index of the circulation pump. Defaults to 0.
target_dp_min_bar (float, optional): Target minimum pressure difference in bar. Defaults to 1.
tolerance (float, optional): Tolerance for pressure difference. Defaults to 0.2.
proportional_gain (float, optional): Proportional gain for the controller. Defaults to 0.2.
min_plift (float, optional): Minimum lift pressure in bar. Defaults to 1.5.
min_pflow (float, optional): Minimum flow pressure in bar. Defaults to 3.5.
**kwargs: Additional keyword arguments.

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Could you adapt the docstrings to Sphinx / reStructuredText (reST) style

"""
def __init__(self, net, circ_pump_pressure_idx=0, target_dp_min_bar=1, tolerance=0.2,
proportional_gain=0.2, min_plift=1.5, min_pflow=3.5, **kwargs):
super(BadPointPressureLiftController, self).__init__(net, **kwargs)
self.circ_pump_pressure_idx = circ_pump_pressure_idx
self.target_dp_min_bar = target_dp_min_bar
self.tolerance = tolerance
self.proportional_gain = proportional_gain

self.min_plift = min_plift # Minimum pressure in bar
self.min_pflow = min_pflow # Minimum lift pressure in bar

self.iteration = 0 # Add iteration counter

self.dp_min, self.heat_consumer_idx = self.calculate_worst_point(net)

def calculate_worst_point(self, net):
"""
Calculate the worst point in the heating network, defined as the heat exchanger with the lowest pressure difference.

Args:
net (pandapipesNet): The pandapipes network.

Returns:
tuple: The minimum pressure difference and the index of the worst point.
"""

dp = []

for idx, qext, p_from, p_to in zip(net.heat_consumer.index, net.heat_consumer["qext_w"],
net.res_heat_consumer["p_from_bar"], net.res_heat_consumer["p_to_bar"]):
if qext != 0:
dp_diff = p_from - p_to
dp.append((dp_diff, idx))

if not dp:
return 0, -1

# Find the minimum delta p where the heat flow is not zero
dp_min, idx_min = min(dp, key=lambda x: x[0])

return dp_min, idx_min

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why not using:
diff = net.res_heat_consumer["p_from_bar"] - net.res_heat_consumer["p_to_bar"]
diff.min(), diff.idxmin()

@JonasPfeiffer123 JonasPfeiffer123 Nov 7, 2025

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Good point! Old implementation of mine, never optimized it. I'm going to simplify the code to use pandas operations instead of the manual loop:
diff = net.res_heat_consumer["p_from_bar"] - net.res_heat_consumer["p_to_bar"]
Then filtering with active_consumers = qext != 0 and using diff.min() and diff.idxmin().


def time_step(self, net, time_step):
"""
Reset the iteration counter at the start of each time step.

Args:
net (pandapipesNet): The pandapipes network.
time_step (int): The current time step.

Returns:
int: The current time step.
"""
self.iteration = 0 # reset iteration counter
self.dp_min, self.heat_consumer_idx = self.calculate_worst_point(net)

return time_step

def is_converged(self, net):
"""
Check if the controller has converged.

Args:
net (pandapipesNet): The pandapipes network.

Returns:
bool: True if converged, False otherwise.
"""

if all(net.heat_consumer["qext_w"] == 0):
return True

current_dp_bar = net.res_heat_consumer["p_from_bar"].at[self.heat_consumer_idx] - \
net.res_heat_consumer["p_to_bar"].at[self.heat_consumer_idx]

# Check if the pressure difference is within tolerance
dp_within_tolerance = abs(current_dp_bar - self.target_dp_min_bar) < self.tolerance

if dp_within_tolerance:
return dp_within_tolerance

def control_step(self, net):
"""
Adjust the pump pressure to maintain the target pressure difference.

Args:
net (pandapipesNet): The pandapipes network.
"""
# Increment iteration counter
self.iteration += 1

# Adjust the pump pressure or switch to standby mode when heat flow is zero
if all(net.heat_consumer["qext_w"] == 0):
# Switch to standby mode
print("No heat flow detected. Switching to standby mode.")
net.circ_pump_pressure.loc[:, "plift_bar"] = self.min_plift # Minimum lift pressure
net.circ_pump_pressure.loc[:, "p_flow_bar"] = self.min_pflow # Minimum flow pressure

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Why all circ pumps?

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You're right. I've never had a problem, as I always only use one circ_pump_pressure. I'm going to change it from .loc[:, ...] to .at[self.circ_pump_pressure_idx, ...] so it only affects the single controlled pump, not all pumps in the network.

return super(BadPointPressureLiftController, self).control_step(net)

# Check whether the heat flow in the heat exchanger is zero
current_dp_bar = net.res_heat_consumer["p_from_bar"].at[self.heat_consumer_idx] - \
net.res_heat_consumer["p_to_bar"].at[self.heat_consumer_idx]
current_plift_bar = net.circ_pump_pressure["plift_bar"].at[self.circ_pump_pressure_idx]
current_pflow_bar = net.circ_pump_pressure["p_flow_bar"].at[self.circ_pump_pressure_idx]

dp_error = self.target_dp_min_bar - current_dp_bar

plift_adjustment = dp_error * self.proportional_gain
pflow_adjustment = dp_error * self.proportional_gain

new_plift = current_plift_bar + plift_adjustment
new_pflow = current_pflow_bar + pflow_adjustment

net.circ_pump_pressure["plift_bar"].at[self.circ_pump_pressure_idx] = new_plift
net.circ_pump_pressure["p_flow_bar"].at[self.circ_pump_pressure_idx] = new_pflow

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This seems to me a bit random and error prone. Usually you keep one pressure fixed: flow or return and only adapt the pressure lift accordingly.

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In my understanding: For this application we need to adjust both p_flow_bar
and plift_bar together. The reason is that p_flow_bar sets the absolute pressure at the
pump outlet (supply), and plift_bar sets the pressure increase across the pump.

If we only adjust plift_bar while keeping p_flow_bar constant, increasing plift_bar would
actually decrease the return pressure (since p_flow = p_return + plift), which is
would be restricted by the pressure maintenance in place, right?

By adjusting both pressures with the same proportional gain, we make sure, that the return pressure stays in place.

If that's not the case, I'd like to discuss it, before finishing this pull request.

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Yes, we should discuss this first I guess.


return super(BadPointPressureLiftController, self).control_step(net)
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
import numpy as np
import pytest
import pandapipes as pp
from pandapipes.control import BadPointPressureLiftController

@pytest.fixture
def district_heating_net():
"""Create a simple district heating network with pump and heat consumers."""
net = pp.create_empty_network(fluid="water")

supply_temperature_k = 85 + 273.15
pipetype = "110/202 PLUS"

# Create ring network
j1 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(0, 10))
j2 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(0, 0))
j3 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(10, 0))
j4 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(60, 0))
j5 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(85, 0))
j6 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(85, 10))
j7 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(60, 10))
j8 = pp.create_junction(net, pn_bar=1.05, tfluid_k=supply_temperature_k, geodata=(10, 10))

pp.create_circ_pump_const_pressure(net, j1, j2, p_flow_bar=4, plift_bar=1.5,
t_flow_k=supply_temperature_k, type="auto")

pp.create_pipe(net, j2, j3, std_type=pipetype, length_km=0.01, k_mm=0.1, sections=5, text_k=283)
pp.create_pipe(net, j3, j4, std_type=pipetype, length_km=0.05, k_mm=0.1, sections=5, text_k=283)
pp.create_pipe(net, j4, j5, std_type=pipetype, length_km=0.025, k_mm=0.1, sections=5, text_k=283)
pp.create_pipe(net, j6, j7, std_type=pipetype, length_km=0.25, k_mm=0.1, sections=5, text_k=283)
pp.create_pipe(net, j7, j8, std_type=pipetype, length_km=0.05, k_mm=0.1, sections=5, text_k=283)
pp.create_pipe(net, j8, j1, std_type=pipetype, length_km=0.01, k_mm=0.1, sections=5, text_k=283)

pp.create_heat_consumer(net, j5, j6, loss_coefficient=0, qext_w=100000, treturn_k=328.15)
pp.create_heat_consumer(net, j4, j7, loss_coefficient=0, qext_w=200000, treturn_k=333.15)

pp.pipeflow(net, mode="bidirectional", iter=100)
return net

def test_bad_point_pressure_lift_controller(district_heating_net):
"""Test that controller maintains target pressure difference at worst point."""
net = district_heating_net
target_dp = 1.5
tolerance = 0.1

# Add controller to network
controller = BadPointPressureLiftController(net, target_dp_min_bar=target_dp,
tolerance=tolerance, proportional_gain=0.3)
net.controller.loc[len(net.controller)] = [controller, True, -1, -1, False, False]

# Run pipeflow with control
for _ in range(5):
pp.pipeflow(net, mode="bidirectional", iter=100)
if controller.is_converged(net):
break

# Verify convergence and target achievement
dp_min, worst_point_idx = controller.calculate_worst_point(net)

assert net.converged, "Network should converge with controller"
assert worst_point_idx >= 0, "Controller should identify worst point"
assert abs(dp_min - target_dp) < tolerance, \
f"Controller should reach target {target_dp} bar, got {dp_min:.3f} bar"

def test_bad_point_controller_standby_mode(district_heating_net):
"""Test that controller enters standby mode when no heat demand is present."""
net = district_heating_net

# Remove heat demand
net.heat_consumer["qext_w"] = 0

controller = BadPointPressureLiftController(net, target_dp_min_bar=1.5,
min_plift=1.5, min_pflow=3.5)
controller.control_step(net)

# Verify standby mode sets minimum pressures
assert net.circ_pump_pressure["plift_bar"].iloc[0] == 1.5
assert net.circ_pump_pressure["p_flow_bar"].iloc[0] == 3.5

if __name__ == "__main__":
pytest.main([__file__, "-v"])
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