Role Of District Heating Research Articles

The role of district heating in coupling of the future renewable energy sectors

For the last decades energy efficiency initiatives have avoided enormous amounts of energy consumption, to the favor of the environment and consumer expenditures. Although there is still a big potential for further energy efficiency improvements it is time to move further and start preparing the whole energy system for the challenge of oversupply from intermittent renewable energy sources, particularly in the power sector. In 2015 the maximum one-hour power oversupply from wind turbines alone in Denmark happened the 26th of June, peaking at around 900 MW and the oversupply over a 15-hour period was 10 GWh. Known solutions to make use of oversupply in the power sector are power export, energy storage and halting the power generation. The power export needs to rely on sufficient capacity at local interconnectors, power demand in the importing country and there is an economic gain in the export. Energy storages can range from storing of power in batteries, pumped hydro, synthetic fuels to fuel displacing at other energy sectors. The last option is stopping the turbines, which should be avoided. The optimum energy storage would have large capacity, fast charging, high recovery efficiency and low cost. Scoring high on all criteria’s can be difficult when focusing on a single energy sector. By widening the perspective and start taking advantages of synergies between the energy sectors there is a possibility to score high on all three criteria’s. In this paper the potential of utilizing synergies between the power and heat sectors will be explored by considering the projections for the Danish energy system in 2025. The result of the analysis shows the optimum energy storage of renewable power is achieved through fuel displacement in the heating sector in combination with utility sized heat pumps, electric boilers and large thermal storages.

The role of district heating in achieving sustainable cities: comparative analysis of different heat scenarios for Geneva

In many European cities, the heat demand remains mostly supplied by individual fossil fuel-fired boilers, contributing to an inefficient and non-sustainable energy system. In order to decrease the fossil fuel consumption in the heating sector, an improvement of energy efficiency and an increase of renewable energy use must be achieved. This study assesses and compares the impacts of implementing different heat strategies regarding both demand and supply side of the heating system, through a case-study in the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Different heat scenarios for 2035 were developed, based on an input/output hourly energy system model which ensures the matching between heat demand and energy resources. This model is coupled with spatial data that enable to identify the areas where district heating could be developed. The results show the impacts of the different strategies regarding the energy supply, the CO2 emissions and the related socio-economic costs. The findings demonstrate the importance of district heating networks, which offer the possibility to use local heat sources that otherwise would be unused due to technical, spatial or economic constraints. Compared to a scenario essentially focused on very high energy savings in buildings, a more flexible scenario, combining district heating expansion and a smaller reduction in heat demand, enables to achieve the same reductions in fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, but with lower socio-economic costs.

Role of District Heating in Systems with a High Share of Renewables: Case Study for the City of Osijek

Highly efficient cogeneration and district heating systems have significant potential for primary energy savings which are still highly underutilized in the European Union. They also represent a very important factor when it comes to the planning of future energy systems because of their potential to increase the flexibility of the overall system and therefore enable a higher level of the utilization of intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and photovoltaic. The goal of this work is to present and utilize a heat demand mapping methodology on a case study for the city of Osijek in Croatia and to analyze the potential such systems have on the increase of the penetration of intermittent renewables. The data obtained through the mapping process have been used to create several scenarios for the development of Osijek's energy system with a high penetration of district heating, wind and solar energy. The EnergyPLAN modelling tool has been used to perform the energy system analysis created for this paper.

The role of district heating in the future Danish energy system

In the EU and in Denmark, the aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to use energy more efficiently. District heating and combined heat and power have significant potential with regard to achieving this aim. New technologies may make individual solutions such as electric heating, heat pumps and micro-CHP more attractive than previously. Therefore, the competitive conditions between district heating and other types of heating may change in the future. The question is therefore whether district heating can contribute to ensuring the sustainability of future energy systems? Denmark is used as a case as the country has a high share of district heating and produces 20% of the electricity with wind power. The analyses are carried out using the electricity market model Balmorel, which facilitates cost optimization of operation and investments in energy production plants as well as electricity transmission. To be able to perform the analysis an extension of the model is developed, where it is also possible to optimize between investments in individual heating plants or in expansion of the district heating networks, depending on investment costs, energy density of the potential areas and their distance to existing district heating networks. Results show that district heating may contribute to the sustainability and security of supply of future energy systems and that under the given assumptions it is cost effective to increase the share of district heating up to 55–57% of the heat demand although substantial heat saving measures are installed.

Introducing District Heating in a Norwegian town – Potential for reduced Local and Global Emissions

This paper presents the results of a municipal energy system analysis where the role of district heating is emphasised. A simplified energy system model based on linear programming is used to study the impact of introducing biomass based district heating in the community. Based on existing situation, some cases are outlined where district heating with varying degree is included as an option. Based on the assumed input data the analysis shows that district heating can play an important role in reshaping the municipal energy system which is dominated by electricity and fossil fuels. A substantial reduction of CO2 emissions can be achieved by replacing fossil fuels and electricity. There is also a possibility to improve local environment by replacing inefficient wood combustion which gives high values of particulate emissions and other harmful compounds.Unlike individual heating, district heating is associated with distribution costs that may be critical to its profitability (particularly in low heat demand areas). In addition, one should keep in mind the need for investment in possible building conversion (switching to hydronic heating system) measures. In relation to today’s energy costs, the total distribution cost of district heat appears to be at such a low level that this together with the assumed fuel prices and investment cost could provide favourable conditions for district heating. If viable, there is also potential for local combined heat and power production.

Paper 1: Practices in the Domestic Field

The paper briefly sketches the background to domestic heating in Britain from Roman times to contemporary awareness of the desirability of better heating. The extent of the domestic market now awaiting satisfaction, and the influences of fuel policy are discussed. The effect of contemporary building methods on the choice of heating systems is considered, and the available systems discussed. Present practices in both public and private sectors of housing are noted, together with comments on the reasons for past and prevailing techniques. Topics leading to considerations of the fuel suppliers' interest in the capital goods market in central heating systems are given, and, finally, some remarks on the potential role of district heating in the domestic central heating field are presented.