PEOPLEMauro Pipiciello

de en it

Mauro Pipiciello

Researcher
Institute for Renewable Energy

T +39 0471 055 694

mauro.pipiciello@eurac.edu

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2854-7828

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About

Main research fields

Laboratory test
Monitoring systems
Heating and cooling systems
District heating and cooling networks

Short bio:

Mauro Pipiciello received a MSc in Energy Engineering at the University of Sannio in 2014. After graduated, he joined as researcher the Sustainable Heating and Cooling Systems group at the Institute for Renewable Energy. His research activity is in the field of heating and cooling system supported by stationary and dynamic laboratory tests. He is the reference person of the “Energy Exchange Lab”.

Link to external profiles:

https://it.linkedin.com/in/mauro-pipiciello-113267a2/

Scientific Publications

Journal article2026

A Two-Degree-of-Freedom Controller with Transport Delay Compensation for Application in Thermo-Hydraulic Circuits

Soppelsa A, Fedrizzi R, Pipiciello M

Anton Soppelsa, Mauro Pipiciello

This paper presents the development and implementation of a two-degree-of-freedom, model-based controller designed to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of a certain class of circuits used in thermo-hydraulic applications. The controller addresses significant challenges such as time-variable transport delays and actuator coupling, which are common in dynamic testing environments. By utilising a model-based control approach and the Smith predictor configuration, the proposed controller simultaneously tracks supply temperature and mass flow rate with improved performance compared to the proportional–integrative–derivative (PID) controller used in our laboratory. The system’s effectiveness is demonstrated through a virtual hydraulic complex model developed in the OpenModelica environment and experimental tests, following the implementation of the controller in the laboratory real-time control software. Both the simulation and experimental results indicate that the controller can closely follow pre-programmed temperature and flow rate waveforms while effectively rejecting disturbances, with an RMSE reduction of up to about 80% under the specific test protocol used in this work, making it suitable for applications required to deal with the above constrains, such as laboratory dynamic testing and thermo-mechanical and chemical process regulation.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/en19092128

Journal article2025

Innovative approach and numerical modeling to retrofit existing substations for bidirectional operation: Enabling thermal prosumer participation in District Heating Network

Gianaroli F, Ricci M, Sdringola P, Pipiciello M, Menegon D, Melino F

Diego Menegon, Mauro Pipiciello

The heating and cooling sector accounts for nearly half of Europe's total energy consumption, highlighting the urgency of its decarbonization. District heating networks, which serve approximately 100 million people across Europe, are recognized by the recent European Energy Efficiency Directives as key infrastructures for integrating renewable energy and waste heat. In Italy, while energy efficiency improvements have primarily focused on thermal production plants, decentralized substations still require upgrades to enhance their performance and support the emergence of thermal prosumers. This study presents a non-invasive retrofit design for an existing substation in a district heating network in Italy, aimed at preserving the integrity of the original infrastructure while implementing a new control system to recover unused solar energy in a supply-to-return configuration. Modelica language and Dymola software are used to develop the numerical model of the bidirectional substation, and multi-domain simulations based on real thermal load and solar production data from a multifamily building are performed with a one-second time step to dynamically test the entire system. Results show that the control strategy effectively manages thermal exchange dynamics even under fluctuating loads. Despite a limited match between solar production and hot water demand, resulting in low self-consumption rates (10.6 % in mid-season and 6.2 % in summer), the bidirectional setup enabled 94 % of the solar energy to be effectively utilized during the summer day. In line with the results obtained for the representative days, the annual extrapolation shows that the proposed configuration enables 78.4 % of the solar energy to be effectively utilized, with a self-sufficiency rate of 32.5 % and a self-consumption rate of 14.9 %. The proposed solution offers a replicable and efficient approach to support the integration of distributed renewable heat sources in existing district heating systems.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126698

Journal article2025

Prosumers and district heating: Experimental validation of strategies to improve thermal energy production and consumption

Sdringola P, Pipiciello M, Ricci E, Gianaroli F, Menegon D, Trentin F, Turrin F, Di Pietra B

Diego Menegon, Mauro Pipiciello, Federico Trentin, Francesco Turrin

The European Union targets a 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, emphasizing decarbonisation in energy sectors. District Heating Networks with thermal prosumers and bidirectional substations are critical to decarbonize the heating sector by integrating renewable energy sources. The paper analyses how to enhance the share of renewable energy sources used by a thermal prosumer. Various strategies, including heat pump integration, are experimentally studied to improve the prosumer’s energy self-consumption in a district heating network operating at two temperature levels (80/50 °C and 60/30 °C for supply and return), utilizing the hardware-in-the-loop technique to couple the substation in real-time with data-driven profiles for thermal loads (multi-family residential buildings) and production (solar panels). Energy flows are analysed for representative days and then extrapolated to calculate yearly results. The implemented strategies were found to be effective in terms of user’s self-sufficiency: the energy produced by solar panels and used to cover the thermal demand increased across all case studies i.e., from 8 % to 27 % for non-renovated buildings operating with high-temperature network, from 14 % to 26 % for renovated buildings with low-temperature network. The share of self-consumption increased from 13 % to 30 %, and from 10 % to 15 % respectively, and the production from renewable sources was enhanced (up to 39 %). With net metering, local energy surplus can be utilized beyond production periods, achieving 58 % self-consumption when integrating a heat pump. The results can support stakeholders in developing efficient district heating systems, particularly in the context of potential thermal energy communities

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.115713

Conference proceedings article2025

Retrofit design and numerical modeling of bidirectional substations for the empowerment of thermal prosumers in district heating networks

Gianaroli F, Ricci M, Sdringola P, Pipiciello M, Menegon D, Melino F

Diego Menegon, Mauro Pipiciello

The global energy landscape is undergoing a crucial transition towards renewable energy solutions, underlining the importance of decentralizing energy systems. This complex and long-term process has facilitated the emergence of energy communities, enabling a wide range of actors, including citizens, to actively participate in the energy transition. A key element of this transition is the role of prosumers, individuals who consume and produce energy from renewable sources. Thermal prosumers can be integrated into district heating networks through bidirectional thermal substations, allowing excess thermal energy – produced locally from renewable sources, such as solar thermal systems, or recovered from industrial processes – to be injected into the network.
In this framework, the study introduces a novel approach to adapt traditional district heating substations to bidirectional heat exchange devices, enabling prosumers to actively use thermal energy for their needs and contribute surplus energy to the network. Using an existing network in northern Italy as a case study, an optimized layout in a “supply-to-return” configuration is proposed. To evaluate the performance and potential of the proposed bidirectional device, a detailed numerical model of the substation was implemented in Dymola software for multi-domain simulation. The model was designed to analyze the system’s summer operation, with customized systems and control logics developed from standard library models to accurately reproduce the substation‘s behavior under specific conditions. The results showed that the bidirectional substation allows for the utilization of previously unused thermal potential, due to the mismatch between demand and production, and makes it available to the network, particularly on days with high solar irradiance. This innovative approach finally extends the concept of energy sharing to thermal energy flows, at the community level, opening up new opportunities for a more integrated and sustainable management of energy resources.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.46855/energy-proceedings-11467

Conference proceedings article2024

Empowering prosumers in district heating networks: Experimental analysis and performance evaluation of a bidirectional substation

Gianaroli F, Pipiciello M, Sdringola P, Trentin F, Ricci M, Di Pietra B, Menegon D, Melino F

Diego Menegon, Mauro Pipiciello, Federico Trentin

The European Union highlights the crucial role of district heating and cooling, prompting innovations for prosumer-driven energy communities. The significance of thermal prosumers lies in their ability to contribute to the district heating network by utilizing locally sourced energy from renewables or industrial processes, thereby reducing fossil fuel usage, and enhancing district heating sustainability. In this framework, the document outlines an innovative approach aimed at establishing a pre-commercial setup for retrofitting traditional substations in bidirectional substation for district heating networks. These devices allow prosumers to actively consume thermal energy for their internal needs and share any surplus to the network. Based on an existing network in northern Italy, an optimized layout is proposed in a “supply-to-return” configuration: it includes a heat exchanger at the interface between the end-user and the network, supplying space heating and domestic hot water through thermal storage, which can also be charged by the distributed generation system (i.e., solar panels). An additional heat exchanger is intended to feed the network with surplus energy locally produced. To assess the performance and advantages of the proposed setup, an extensive experimental campaign was conducted, modifying, and integrating a pre-existing substation prototype in real-time with data-driven thermal loads and production profiles using the hardware-in-the-loop technique. The results show that while the deployment of evacuated tube solar collectors may not have significantly impact in term of local selfconsumption in comparison to flat collectors due to energy demand disparities, it does offer a notable advantage in terms of energy fed into the network. This advantage is nearly 25 times greater than that of flat panels, particularly noticeable during winter days. This results in a significant advantage at the local level as well, enabling the achievement of 100% self-consumption when the DHN serves as thermal storage, especially during mid-season days. These findings underscore the effectiveness of evacuated tube collectors in maximizing energy utilization and reinforcing the role of bidirectional substations in promoting renewable energy integration within urban heating systems.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.52202/077185-0102

Journal article2024

Numerical and experimental investigation of stratified water storage tanks: An enhanced adaptive-grid model

Jodeiri AM, Soppelsa A, Turrin F, Pipiciello M, Cozzini M, Fedrizzi R

Anton Soppelsa, Mauro Pipiciello, Francesco Turrin, Marco Cozzini

Project: EU H2020 REWARDHeat - Renewable and Waste Heat Recovery for Competitive District Heating and Cooling Networks

Stratified water storage tanks are key in thermal energy systems, effectively balancing energy supply with heat demand, thus facilitating operational flexibility. Accurately modeling both energy balance and thermocline evolution with minimal computational effort is essential for models implementation in real-time control applications. One-dimensional, static-grid models are favored for their easy implementation; however, they require dense grids in order to minimize numerical diffusion and to represent mixing effect correctly, resulting in rather expensive computational effort. This study introduces an adaptive-grid model that comprehensively represents the water storage tank’s geometrical features, including inlet and outlet duct heights and dead volume sizes. It also details the spatially discretized heat diffusion and characterizes the inflow region’s mixing using an empirical equation. Implemented in both TRaNsient SYstem Simulation (TRNSYS) and Modelica environments, the model is validated through laboratory experiments with a hot water storage tank operating under various mass flow and temperature conditions, representative of heat pump-driven heating systems. The results indicate improvements in computational efficiency compared to static-grid models, specifically a 55% reduction in simulation duration with the same level of uncertainty.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123113

Journal article2024

The bidirectional substation for district heating users: experimental performance assessment with operational profiles of prosumer loads and distributed generation

Pipiciello M, Trentin F, Soppelsa A, Menegon D, Fedrizzi R, Ricci M, Di Pietra B, Sdringola P

Diego Menegon, Anton Soppelsa, Mauro Pipiciello, Federico Trentin

The regulatory European and national policies outline the role of efficient district heating in achieving mid and long-term decarbonization targets. Prosumers could be equipped with bidirectional exchange substations to increase the local production contribution. The present paper evaluates the contribution of a bidirectional substation in maximizing the use of thermal energy produced locally by renewable sources or waste heat in a densely populated area, considering the limitation due to the non-contemporaneity of production and consumption and possibilities to overcome them. The substation prototype and the control system were tested in operational conditions, assuming the district heating network operating at two temperature levels (80 °C/50 °C and 60 °C/30 °C for supply and return) and applying the hardware-in-the-loop technique for coupling the substation in real-time with data-driven thermal loads (multi-family residential building) and production (solar panels and waste heat) profiles. The various energy flows in the substation are presented for representative days, resulting in a district heating contribution to the user’s load ranging between 99.8 % (winter day) and 21.8 % (summer day). The net-metering mechanism was considered, and the assessment extended to the entire year. The local production contribution to the user’s load ranges between 24 % and 100 %, depending on the system configuration considered.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113872

Journal article2021

Experimental characterization of a prototype of bidirectional substation for district heating with thermal prosumers

Pipiciello M, Caldera M, Cozzini M, Ancona MA, Melino F, Di Pietra B

Mauro Pipiciello, Marco Cozzini

The prosumer, already widespread in the electrical sector, is still uncommon in the district heating (DH) sector. Nevertheless, this figure can potentially provide a relevant contribution to increase the renewable fraction of heat and to decrease the fossil fuel consumption, hence enhancing sustainable and efficient district heating. Moreover, prosumers are more informed and responsible towards energy production and energy savings. In order to enable the two-way heat exchange, the thermal substation at the interface between the prosumer and the DH network must be properly upgraded.

The present paper aims at providing a comprehensive contribution to the design and testing of an innovative bidirectional substation for active district heating, focusing on the hydraulic configuration and on the control strategies. The realized substation primarily fulfils the prosumer’s heat demand and supplies the excess heat to the DH network only if it is available at the temperature contractually defined with the DH operator, while it uses the network as a source if the local production is not sufficient to cover the user’s heat demand. The prototype, with a technology readiness level TRL 4, can be connected to a generic micro-generation system, e.g. solar thermal or heat recovery units. An extensive test campaign has been carried out in order to evaluate its dynamic behavior both from energetic and hydraulic points of view. Test confirmed the reliable operation of the substation, which is able to handle simultaneous heat exchanges with the user’s heating system and the DH network at pressure loss lower than 0.2 bar and at temperatures within ±0.6 °C of the prescribed setpoint after transients shorter than 5 min, even with ±10 °C step changes in the inlet fluid temperatures.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.120036

Journal article2020

Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling Substations: Demand Response with Artificial Neural Network-Based Model Predictive Control

Buffa S, Soppelsa A, Pipiciello M, Henze G, Fedrizzi R

Anton Soppelsa, Mauro Pipiciello

District heating and cooling (DHC) is considered one of the most sustainable technologies to meet the heating and cooling demands of buildings in urban areas. The fifth-generation district heating and cooling (5GDHC) concept, often referred to as ambient loops, is a novel solution emerging in Europe and has become a widely discussed topic in current energy system research. 5GDHC systems operate at a temperature close to the ground and include electrically driven heat pumps and associated thermal energy storage in a building-sited energy transfer station (ETS) to satisfy user comfort. This work presents new strategies for improving the operation of these energy transfer stations by means of a model predictive control (MPC) method based on recurrent artificial neural networks. The results show that, under simple time-of-use utility rates, the advanced controller outperforms a rule-based controller for smart charging of the domestic hot water (DHW) thermal energy storage under specific boundary conditions. By exploiting the available thermal energy storage capacity, the MPC controller is capable of shifting up to 14% of the electricity consumption of the ETS from on-peak to off-peak hours. Therefore, the advanced control implemented in 5GDHC networks promotes coupling between the thermal and the electric sector, producing flexibility on the electric grid.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/en13174339

Journal article2016

Monitoring of a flat plate solar thermal field supplying process heat

Cozzini M, Fedrizzi R, Pipiciello M, Söll R, Ben Hassine I, Pietruschka D

Mauro Pipiciello, Marco Cozzini

The article reports the performance data of a flat plate collector field installed in Austria and supplying process heat to a meat factory, up to a temperature of about 95 °C. The presented data span an entire year, thereby including seasonal effects and allowing for a full characterization of the system performances. Sensor uncertainty is also discussed in detail. Finally, a bin method analysis of the field efficiency is provided. To this purpose, different operating conditions are concisely represented by the so-called reduced temperature, typically used in solar collector applications.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1051/rees/2016004

Journal article2016

Performance Analysis of a Flat Plate Solar Field for Process Heat

Cozzini M, Pipiciello M, Fedrizzi R, Ben Hassine I, Pietruschka D, Soell R

Mauro Pipiciello, Marco Cozzini

For a demonstration site realized within the European project InSun, we present the monitoring results of a solar thermal field providing process heat for a meat factory. The field uses flat plate collectors, with an overall gross area of 1070 m². The generated heat is used to provide hot water at two temperature levels in the low-medium range (55–90 °C). The paper focuses on the performance analysis of the solar field, by comparing the measured field efficiency with the nominal collector efficiency and pointing out transient effects. To this purpose, a bin method approach is applied to the detailed analysis of one month (July 2014). Finally, the medium-term performance is investigated analyzing data from three consecutive summers, showing a stable efficiency with no evidence of performance decay.

DOI

DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2016.06.164

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Conference proceedings article2024

Empowering prosumers in district heating networks: Experimental analysis and performance evaluation of a bidirectional substation

Gianaroli F, Pipiciello M, Sdringola P, Trentin F, Ricci M, Di Pietra B, Menegon D, Melino F

Diego Menegon, Mauro Pipiciello, Federico Trentin

DOI Source

DOI: 10.52202/077185-0102

Mauro Pipiciello

About

Scientific Publications

A Two-Degree-of-Freedom Controller with Transport Delay Compensation for Application in Thermo-Hydraulic Circuits

Innovative approach and numerical modeling to retrofit existing substations for bidirectional operation: Enabling thermal prosumer participation in District Heating Network

Prosumers and district heating: Experimental validation of strategies to improve thermal energy production and consumption

Retrofit design and numerical modeling of bidirectional substations for the empowerment of thermal prosumers in district heating networks

Empowering prosumers in district heating networks: Experimental analysis and performance evaluation of a bidirectional substation

Numerical and experimental investigation of stratified water storage tanks: An enhanced adaptive-grid model

The bidirectional substation for district heating users: experimental performance assessment with operational profiles of prosumer loads and distributed generation

Experimental characterization of a prototype of bidirectional substation for district heating with thermal prosumers

Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling Substations: Demand Response with Artificial Neural Network-Based Model Predictive Control

Monitoring of a flat plate solar thermal field supplying process heat

Performance Analysis of a Flat Plate Solar Field for Process Heat

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Scientific Publications

A Two-Degree-of-Freedom Controller with Transport Delay Compensation for Application in Thermo-Hydraulic Circuits

Innovative approach and numerical modeling to retrofit existing substations for bidirectional operation: Enabling thermal prosumer participation in District Heating Network

Prosumers and district heating: Experimental validation of strategies to improve thermal energy production and consumption

Retrofit design and numerical modeling of bidirectional substations for the empowerment of thermal prosumers in district heating networks

Empowering prosumers in district heating networks: Experimental analysis and performance evaluation of a bidirectional substation

Numerical and experimental investigation of stratified water storage tanks: An enhanced adaptive-grid model

The bidirectional substation for district heating users: experimental performance assessment with operational profiles of prosumer loads and distributed generation

Experimental characterization of a prototype of bidirectional substation for district heating with thermal prosumers

Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling Substations: Demand Response with Artificial Neural Network-Based Model Predictive Control

Monitoring of a flat plate solar thermal field supplying process heat

Performance Analysis of a Flat Plate Solar Field for Process Heat