Abstract
BackgroundDistrict heating is widely used for thermal energy supply and offers a broad range of benefits like the possibility to integrate decentral heat supply technologies or to foster the utilisation of renewable energy sources. Thus, district heating has the potential to gradually contribute to a more sustainable thermal energy supply and to consequently facilitate the energy turn. However, due to specific requirements of this technology, strategic planning is required for the successful implementation of district heating networks. Previous research mainly focuses on either economic, environmental, or technological aspects of district heating. This study therefore aims to execute a comprehensive assessment of district heating systems in the following four sections: (1) integrated spatial and energy planning, (2) costs, (3) resources and (4) environment and climate.MethodsTo this end, the recently developed Eco.District.Heat kit (EDHk) is used to evaluate and rate eight case studies consisting of 14 different urban typologies, while considering the aforementioned sections of interest. The paper applies the EDHk to assess different spatial structures and grid configurations as well as a broad mix of different thermal energy sources.ResultsWith regard to integrated spatial and energy planning (section 1), the assessment shows heterogenous ratings whereas the case studies exhibit quite constant positive ratings with regard to costs (2), environment and climate (4). Although a lot of material is used for the construction of networks (i.e. resources, section 3), the question whether or not to dismantle old grids for resource utilisation cannot be answered definitely. According to our results, future development scenarios in the context of climate change and building renovation until 2050 have little influence on the final ratings.ConclusionsBased on the comprehensive assessment of eight case studies, it can be concluded that district heating systems offer a long-term and sustainable solution of heat supply for different spatial archetypes and types of urban fabrics. Furthermore, the proposed methodology allows users to critically examine planned projects and to detect shortcomings at an early planning stage. The EDHk thus provides a suitable methodology to support strategic decisions in integrated spatial and energy planning.
Highlights
District heating is widely used for thermal energy supply and offers a broad range of benefits like the possibility to integrate decentral heat supply technologies or to foster the utilisation of renewable energy sources
The aim of this paper is to assess the suitability of District heating network (DHN) with the Eco.District.Heat kit (EDHk) in various case studies (CSs) across Austria in order to address the following questions: What are the main factors influencing the suitability of district heating in urban areas? How are future developments like climate change or building refurbishments influencing the long-term suitability of district heating? In terms of resource utilisation, is a dismantling of discontinued district heating networks reasonable? This paper starts by presenting the methods used for the Case study (CS) analysis, beginning with a brief description of the EDHk, followed by the selection process and description of analysed CSs
The results presented match those of Reidhav and Werner [27], where a minimum density of 2 GJ/ m.a is suggested for a DHN to be economically feasible
Summary
District heating is widely used for thermal energy supply and offers a broad range of benefits like the possibility to integrate decentral heat supply technologies or to foster the utilisation of renewable energy sources. A continuous reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale will allow to tackle this challenge, as was acknowledged by the recent ratification of the Paris agreement. In this particular agreement, the signatories aim to limit the global average temperature increase below 2 °C compared to the pre-industrial level by reducing greenhouse gas emissions [1]. The Climate Change Performance Index offers a global ranking concerning the efforts on climate protection of 56 countries and the European Union [2] With regard to this index, various European countries are performing relatively poor concerning CO2 emissions or climate policy
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