Abstract
Energy usage in buildings is coming increasingly under the spotlight as carbon policy focus shifts towards the utilization of thermal energy. In the UK, heating and hot water accounts for around 40% of energy consumption and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Heating is typically produced onsite, making widescale carbon or energetic improvements challenging. District heating networks (DHNs) can offer significant carbon reduction for many users but can only be implemented if the end user buildings have good thermal energy efficiency. This greatly limits the ability to implement advancing 4th and 5th generation DHNs, which are the most advanced systems available. We elucidate the current state of thermal efficiency in buildings in the UK and provide recommendations for necessary building requirements and modifications in order to accommodate 4th and 5th generation district heating. We conclude that key sectors must be addressed including creating a skilled workforce, producing relevant metrics and benchmarks, and providing financial support for early stage design exploration.
Highlights
Following the 1992 Kyoto Protocol, there has been an increasing amount of legislation dictating cleaner energy in the UK [1,2,3,4,5]
District Heating Networks (DHNs), across Europe are generally 3rd generation district heating networks (3GDHNs). These schemes typically operate above 80 ◦ C and are often supplied by a combined heat and power engine (CHP). 3GDHNs offered a significant energetic and safety benefit over previous generations, with advancing technology and understanding, the move is being made towards lower temperature and renewable technology-based heat networks, described as 4th and 5th generation DHNs
5th generation district heating is an emerging type of heat network which allows the exchange of heat and coolth between different buildings
Summary
Following the 1992 Kyoto Protocol, there has been an increasing amount of legislation dictating cleaner energy in the UK (e.g., the Climate Change Act 2008, the Carbon Reduction Commitment and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) [1,2,3,4,5]. 5th generation district heating is an emerging type of heat network which allows the exchange of heat and coolth between different buildings This differs from the first four generations of heat network as the primary heat source is not from an energy centre but is from matching user heat demand with another user’s cooling demand and wider integration of low-grade heat.
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