Imputation of missing data for use in district heating networks modeling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17512/INSTAL.2026.08.02Keywords:
district heating network, hydraulic modeling, imputation, missing dataAbstract
This study addresses the issue of imputing missing data relating to the operation of district heating substations when accurate telemetry data is unavailable. A complete set of input data is required to inform a mathematical model of a district heating network. Three imputation methods were characterized and compared: mean imputation; the hot-deck method; and imputation using linear regression. The methods were evaluated using actual telemetry data in which missing values were randomly induced. Linear regression proved to be the most effective method for filling the gaps, achieving R² scores of up to 0.95 for substation heat power and up to 0.86 for volumetric flow rate. The article identifies sources of potentially valuable auxiliary knowledge that could be used to fill in missing data.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jakub Kuś, Michał Żurawski, Łukasz Mika (Autor)
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