scholarly journals Evaluating the Emissions of the Heat Supplied by District Heating Networks through A Life Cycle Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-405
Author(s):  
Francesco Neirotti ◽  
Michel Noussan ◽  
Marco Simonetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Urban Contexts

The Life Cycle Assessment methodology has proven to be effective in evaluating the impacts of goods production throughout their life cycle. While many studies are available on specific products, in recent years a growing interest is related to the analysis of services, including energy supply for final customers. Different LCA evaluations are available for electricity, while the heating and cooling sector has not yet been properly investigated. The objective of this study is the analysis of the specific impacts of the heat supplied to the final users connected to a district heating system, in comparison with traditional individual natural gas boilers, which represent the baseline heating solution in several urban contexts in Europe. The results show that the comparison is heavily dependent on the allocation method used for combined heat and power plant production. District Heating impact on heat supplied to the users can vary from 0.10 to 0.47 kgCO2eq/kWh, while distributed natural gas boilers present an overall impact equal to 0.27 kgCO2eq/kWh.

scholarly journals Long-term Green Innovation Opportunities Within the Hungarian District Heating Sector Towards 2030

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-24
Author(s):  
Balint Horvath ◽  
Maria Borocz ◽  
Sandor Zsarnoczai ◽  
Csaba Fogarassy
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Simple Fact ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Primary Input ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
The Public ◽  
Heating And Cooling

Abstract Natural gas is still the primary input of the Hungarian heating and cooling systems, therefore it still makes most of the overheads. One of the main obstacles of a competitive district heating system is the public opinion which still considers this service more expensive than the traditional heating forms. According to the absolute numbers this assumption might be valid but from a more accurate economic perspective, heat production has more aspects to stress. Most people forget about the simple fact that the maintenance costs of natural gas based systems are rather outsourced to the consumer than in the case of district heating. Furthermore, the uneven rate of the fixed and variable costs of this technology does not prove to be optimal for service developments. Investigating the future tendencies highlight that encouraging the efficiency improvement of district heating and the spread of technological innovation in the sector does not belong to the top priorities. Still, avoiding this problem it could lead serious deadweight losses in the case of the heating sector.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Irish District Heating Systems: A Comparison of Waste Heat Pump, Biomass-Based and Conventional Gas Boiler

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conall Mahon ◽  
Maneesh Kumar Mediboyina ◽  
Donna Gartland ◽  
Fionnuala Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Ghg Reduction

Abstract This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of heat supply scenarios for the replacement of fossil-based energy systems through a case study focusing on an existing gas-fired boiler supplying heat for buildings located in Tallaght, Ireland. The three replacement systems considered are a waste heat fed heat pump district heating system (WHP-DH), a biomass CHP plant district heating system (BCHP-DH), and an individual gas boiler system (GB). The study found that both DH systems have lower environmental impact than the GB, with the BCHP-DH being superior to WHP-DH. However, using 2030 electricity data showed almost similar overall impacts for both the DH systems. Human toxicity potential (HTP) was highest among all impact categories studied and was due to the large additional infrastructure requirement for all three systems. Whereas the other impacts; Global warming (GWP), Fossil fuel depletion (FFD) and Eutrophication (EP), were due to involving usage of natural gas and electricity in use phase. The BCHP-DH showed reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% and FFD by 73% compared to the GB system. Using 2030 electricity data, the WHP-DH decreased GHG emissions by 42% and FFD by 47%. Further, replacing biomethane with the natural gas in the DH systems decreased GWP by at least 11.4%. The present study concludes that the environmental benefit of a DH system is largely dependent on the carbon intensity of the electricity it uses, thus recommending the DH systems for large scale retrofitting schemes in Ireland to reach Europe’s 2030 GHG reduction targets.

scholarly journals Upgrading a District Heating System by Means of the Integration of Modular Heat Pumps, Geothermal Waters, and PVs for Resilient and Sustainable Urban Energy

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2347
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Hałaj ◽  
Jarosław Kotyza ◽  
Marek Hajto ◽  
Grzegorz Pełka ◽  
Wojciech Luboń ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Geothermal Waters ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
The City

Krakow has an extensive district heating network, which is approximately 900 km long. It is the second largest city in terms of the number of inhabitants in Poland, resulting in a high demand for energy—for both heating and cooling. The district heating of the city is based on coal. The paper presents the conception of using the available renewable sources to integrate them into the city’s heating system, increasing the flexibility of the system and its decentralization. An innovative solution of the use of hybrid, modular heat pumps with power dependent on the needs of customers in a given location and combining them with geothermal waters and photovoltaics is presented. The potential of deep geothermal waters is based on two reservoirs built of carbonate rocks, namely Devonian and Upper Jurassic, which mainly consist of dolomite and limestone. The theoretical potential of water intake equal to the nominal heating capacity of a geothermal installation is estimated at 3.3 and 2.0 MW, respectively. Shallow geothermal energy potential varies within the city, reflecting the complex geological structure of the city. Apart from typical borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), the shallower water levels may represent a significant potential source for both heating and cooling by means of water heat pumps. For the heating network, it has been proposed to use modular heat pumps with hybrid sources, which will allow for the flexible development of the network in places previously unavailable or unprofitable. In the case of balancing production and demand, a photovoltaic installation can be an effective and sufficient source of electricity that will cover the annual electricity demand generated by the heat pump installation, when it is used for both heating and cooling. The alternating demand of facilities for heating and cooling energy, caused by changes in the seasons, suggests potential for using seasonal cold and heat storage.

scholarly journals Effects of implementation of co-generation in the district heating system of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Nis

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (suppl.) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mladen Stojiljkovic ◽  
Mirko Stojiljkovic ◽  
Bratislav Blagojevic ◽  
Goran Vuckovic ◽  
Marko Ignjatovic
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Boiler House ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
District Heating Systems

Implementation of co-generation of thermal and electrical energy in district heating systems often results with higher overall energy efficiency of the systems, primary energy savings and environmental benefits. Financial results depend on number of parameters, some of which are very difficult to predict. After introduction of feed-in tariffs for generation of electrical energy in Serbia, better conditions for implementation of co-generation are created, although in district heating systems barriers are still present. In this paper, possibilities and effects of implementation of natural gas fired cogeneration engines are examined and presented for the boiler house that is a part of the district heating system owned and operated by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Nis. At the moment, in this boiler house only thermal energy is produced. The boilers are natural gas fired and often operate in low part load regimes. The plant is working only during the heating season. For estimation of effects of implementation of co-generation, referent values are taken from literature or are based on the results of measurements performed on site. Results are presented in the form of primary energy savings and greenhouse gasses emission reduction potentials. Financial aspects are also considered and triangle of costs is shown.

scholarly journals Natural gas heating in Serbian settlements according to urbanity parameters

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Brkic
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Gas Distribution ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Energy Supply System ◽  
Gas Heating

Natural gas can be directly used for heating of flats by gas distribution system. Indirectly, heating power plant can disburse natural gas and deliver hot water or steam for heating of flats. Decision of optimal way for gas heating usage is done based on spatial disposal of building, number and size of buildings in settlement, etc. Optimal solution, between gas distribution and district heating system (local or district heating by natural gas), can be done according to methodology (model approach) shown in this paper. According to variety of Serbian settlements (in density, size and layout of buildings) model which has ability to represent their different characteristics is formed. This model could be simple and useful tool for initial decision about energy supply system.

scholarly journals Climate Index for District Heating System

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 406-418
Author(s):  
Ieva Pakere ◽  
Dace Lauka ◽  
Kristiāna Dolge ◽  
Valdis Vitolins ◽  
Ilze Polikarpova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Heat Production ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
District Heating System

AbstractDistrict heating (DH) has been highlighted as an important part in future carbon neutral energy supply. However, the performance of different DH systems varies a lot and the existing regulations do not always motivate DH companies to move toward more sustainable heat production. Therefore, this article presents novel methodology for Climate index determination which can be further used for the comparison of DH systems. The Climate index includes seven different indicators which show DH system performance according to energy efficiency, sustainability and environmental impact dimensions. The methodology is applied for 20 different DH systems operating in Latvia. The results show that the performance of 5 natural gas-based DH systems is below the determined climate benchmark.

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