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Scheme of the annual heat demand and the synergetic combination of solar thermal and biomass for DH, [8, 9]
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Many traditional heating systems which are based on fossils face challenges such as lack of investment or unfavorable price regulations, low technical performance, environmental impacts and negative consumer perceptions. The CoolHeating project which is, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme and presented in this paper promotes the implementati...
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... This phenomenon, known as the urban heat island effect, raises temperatures locally, regionally, and globally [1]. Global energy consumption in buildings is projected to rise by an average of 5.1% annually between 2012 and 2040, primarily for cooling, heating, lighting, and appliances [2]. Schools are significant energy consumers, comparable to residential and office buildings [3]. ...
The significant energy consumption in educational spaces worldwide and its environmental impact greatly influence the quality of space, learning levels, and student comfort. Despite offering free school energy costs, developing countries like Iran have not established specific design principles to ensure student comfort. Additionally, the poor design of school building exteriors, such as the common installation of large, unshaded windows in Iranian schools, causes glare issues. The primary objective of this study is to control direct sunlight and increase shading, thereby reducing its impact on energy consumption and enhancing visual comfort. This paper proposes a novel solution that combines a self-shading facade with a double-skin facade for classroom spaces. The study variables, involving the modification of the geometry of the double-skin self-shading facade via DesignBuilder software and the Daysim plugin, were compared to a simple double-layer facade. Based on the results, the optimal scenario for the self-shading double-skin façade with the specifications of a triangular pyramid module shape, ridge position fold 3/2 the module height, cavity depth 7.0, and number of module 2×2 exhibited 40% lower cooling load, 25% lower heating load, and 95% lower lighting load than a simple double-skin facade. At the same time, all scenarios of the new solution provided better visual comfort and daylighting criteria compared to the simple double-skin facade. The modularity and use of indigenous brick materials in the double-skin self-shading facade design reduce construction costs.
... These situations include inadequate power generation, distribution, and environmental concerns that has driven the need for sustainable alternatives. Solar energy application for water heating in residential and commercial buildings have become more feasible technically and economically [2]. It can operate independently or serve as a pre-heater for gas or electric heaters. ...
This study aimed to assess the sustainability of solar water heating systems (SWHSs) to identify the sustainability indicators necessary for improvement. It involves the development of a fuzzified multi-criteria decision model (MCDM) using cosine similarity index for the sustainability assessment of SWHSs namely; integrated collector storage (ICS), thermosyphon (TS), active open-loop (AOL) and active closed-loop (ACL). The article was able to identify the indicators necessary for improvement following the sustainability assessment of SWHSs in domestic and industrial applications. The framework for the sustainability assessment of the SWHSs included the traditional sustainability indicators such as economic (EC), environmental (EN), and social (SO), and peculiar sustainability indicators namely manufacturing (MA), maintenance (MN), reliability (RE), and life-cycle (LC). This study employed conceptual design developed based on working principle of SWHSs and responses of design experts for sustainability data. For future research, practical evaluation, and more sustainability indicators is recommended for increased analysis depth on the sustainability of the systems. The establishment of sustainability indicators and sub-indicators towards the assessment of SWHSs using MCDM considering the indicators identified for the benefit of energy planning from the manufacturer to the end user. This research focus is on sustainability using the computational strength of the fuzzified MCDM method to assess the sustainability of SWHSs using traditional and peculiar sustainability indicators. The highest economic indicator was in ACL at 53% and the lowest in TS at 42%. This shows that it is important for sustainable economic ease and growth, across the domestic and importantly the industrial sector that the rate of heating using SWHSs should be improved for economic sustainability. The highest environmental indicator was in ICS at 54% and the lowest in TS at 39%. The social indicator was highest in ICS with 43% and joint lowest in TS and AOL at 30%.
... The study highlighted the need for optimizing solar collectors and cooling capacities to address these challenges, demonstrating the complexities involved in implementing such advanced cooling solutions. Rutz et al. (2019) explored the transition towards a sustainable heating and cooling sector in Southeast European countries. The CoolHeating project, funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, aimed to promote the implementation of small modular renewable heating and cooling grids. ...
This study presents a comprehensive review of the latest techniques and materials in sustainable cooling solutions for electronic systems, focusing on their effectiveness in mechanical applications and associated environmental benefits. The primary aim is to assess the current state and future prospects of sustainable cooling technologies, highlighting their role in addressing thermal management challenges while minimizing environmental impacts. The methodology adopted is a systematic literature review, drawing data from peer-reviewed academic journals, conference proceedings, and industry reports. The search strategy involved keyword searches, database filtering, and reference tracking, with a focus on recent advancements in cooling technologies and their environmental implications. Key findings reveal a significant shift from traditional cooling methods to innovative, environmentally friendly solutions. Advanced materials like phase-change materials and nanotechnology-based heat sinks, along with techniques such as liquid cooling and thermoelectric cooling, have emerged as effective solutions. These technologies offer improved thermal management, reduced carbon footprints, and enhanced resource efficiency. The future landscape of sustainable electronic cooling is expected to be shaped by smart technologies, new materials with superior thermal properties, and the integration of renewable energy sources. The study concludes with strategic recommendations for industry stakeholders and policymakers, emphasizing the need for fostering innovation, promoting green cooling solutions, and setting stringent environmental standards. Future research directions include exploring new materials and technologies, integrating cooling systems with renewable energy, and conducting lifecycle analyses to understand the environmental impact of these technologies fully. This study underscores the critical role of sustainable cooling technologies in achieving environmental sustainability in electronic systems.
... Indicator References Economic Upfront cost (Vasić, 2018, Rostam and Abbasi, 2021, Ascione et al., 2019) O&M cost (Vasić, 2018, Rutz et al., 2019, Saleem and Ulfat, 2019) Life cycle cost (Hajare and Elwakil, 2020, Rostam and Abbasi, 2021, Wu et al., 2017) Payback period (Zhang et al., 2019, Yang et al., 2018, Si et al., 2016) Net present value (Taylan et al., 2020, Fan and Xia, 2017, Borzoni et al., 2014) Energy cost (Siksnelyte-Butkiene et al., 2021, Rutz et al., 2019, Chou and Ongkowijoyo, 2014) Availability of funds and subsidies (Taylan et al., 2020, Chapman et al., 2016, Boran, 2018) Economic Lifetime (Taylan et al., 2020, Ghenai et al., 2020, Atabaki and Aryanpur, 2018) Annualised cost (Chen et al., 2020, Atilgan and Azapagic, 2016, Fonseca et al., 2021 Levelised cost of energy (Yang et al., 2018, Lee andChang, 2018) Affordability (Väisänen et al., 2016) Reduced energy cost (Yang et al., 2018) Global cost (Rostam and Abbasi, 2021) Commercial viability (Hacatoglu et al., 2015) Market Maturity (Vasić, 2018 Job creation (Chen et al., 2020, Onat et al., 2014, Yuan et al., 2018) Thermal comfort (Vasić, 2018, Chinese et al., 2011) Social acceptance (Saleem andUlfat, 2019, Kontu et al., 2015, Seddiki and Bennadji, 2019) Health impacts (Ekholm et al., 2014, Gencturk et al., 2016, Onat et al., 2014) Acoustic performance (Yadegaridehkordi et al., 2020, Bachmann, 2013, Yadegaridehkordi and Nilashi, 2022 Reliability and security (Yang et al., 2018, Si et al., 2016, Chinese et al., 2011) Safety (Taylan et al., 2020, Aberilla et al., 2020, Li and Froese, 2017 Usability and functionality (Džiugaitė-Tumėnienė et al., 2017, Ahmad and Thaheem, 2017, Kontu et al., 2015 Severe accidents (Grafakos et al., 2017, Streimikiene et al., 2012, Aberilla et al., 2020) Social benefits (Zhang et al., 2019, Taylan et al., 2020, Wu et al., 2018 Aesthetic aspects (Grafakos et al., 2017, Ahmad and Thaheem, 2017, Li and Froese, 2017) Adaptability with technological innovations (Passoni et al., 2021, Bachmann, 2013) Support local businesses (Taylan et al., 2020, Brand andMissaoui, 2014 (Si et al., 2016) ...
... Indicator References Economic Upfront cost (Vasić, 2018, Rostam and Abbasi, 2021, Ascione et al., 2019) O&M cost (Vasić, 2018, Rutz et al., 2019, Saleem and Ulfat, 2019) Life cycle cost (Hajare and Elwakil, 2020, Rostam and Abbasi, 2021, Wu et al., 2017) Payback period (Zhang et al., 2019, Yang et al., 2018, Si et al., 2016) Net present value (Taylan et al., 2020, Fan and Xia, 2017, Borzoni et al., 2014) Energy cost (Siksnelyte-Butkiene et al., 2021, Rutz et al., 2019, Chou and Ongkowijoyo, 2014) Availability of funds and subsidies (Taylan et al., 2020, Chapman et al., 2016, Boran, 2018) Economic Lifetime (Taylan et al., 2020, Ghenai et al., 2020, Atabaki and Aryanpur, 2018) Annualised cost (Chen et al., 2020, Atilgan and Azapagic, 2016, Fonseca et al., 2021 Levelised cost of energy (Yang et al., 2018, Lee andChang, 2018) Affordability (Väisänen et al., 2016) Reduced energy cost (Yang et al., 2018) Global cost (Rostam and Abbasi, 2021) Commercial viability (Hacatoglu et al., 2015) Market Maturity (Vasić, 2018 Job creation (Chen et al., 2020, Onat et al., 2014, Yuan et al., 2018) Thermal comfort (Vasić, 2018, Chinese et al., 2011) Social acceptance (Saleem andUlfat, 2019, Kontu et al., 2015, Seddiki and Bennadji, 2019) Health impacts (Ekholm et al., 2014, Gencturk et al., 2016, Onat et al., 2014) Acoustic performance (Yadegaridehkordi et al., 2020, Bachmann, 2013, Yadegaridehkordi and Nilashi, 2022 Reliability and security (Yang et al., 2018, Si et al., 2016, Chinese et al., 2011) Safety (Taylan et al., 2020, Aberilla et al., 2020, Li and Froese, 2017 Usability and functionality (Džiugaitė-Tumėnienė et al., 2017, Ahmad and Thaheem, 2017, Kontu et al., 2015 Severe accidents (Grafakos et al., 2017, Streimikiene et al., 2012, Aberilla et al., 2020) Social benefits (Zhang et al., 2019, Taylan et al., 2020, Wu et al., 2018 Aesthetic aspects (Grafakos et al., 2017, Ahmad and Thaheem, 2017, Li and Froese, 2017) Adaptability with technological innovations (Passoni et al., 2021, Bachmann, 2013) Support local businesses (Taylan et al., 2020, Brand andMissaoui, 2014 (Si et al., 2016) ...
... generation is already being increasingly mentioned, as a system which has ultra-low temperature levels and which can therefore utilise low temperature sources (Lund et al., 2021) and provide bidirectional flow (Bilardo et al., 2021). Such sources are usually renewables, in the form of solar thermal or geothermal (Rutz et al., 2017(Rutz et al., , 2019. ...
The heating sector of the European Union covers 80% of the household’s final energy consumption, which shows its relevance for the energy transition to the carbon neutral society, as set out in the Green Deal. Since most of the heat demand is located in the high heat density areas, district heating shows to be a promising solution for reducing the environmental impact of this sector, as it enables the utilisation of renewable energy sources and the use of high efficiency production technologies. An especially interesting source for district heating is excess heat from various industries and tertiary sector buildings, which has a significant technical potential. However, to enable excess heat producers to supply their heat to district heating, third-party access needs to be granted, which calls for a deregulated heat market.
This work consists of analysing two different bidding strategies which can be applied on the heat market: total cost and marginal cost biding. The focus here is to research the feasibility of the excess heat sources when different bidding strategies are used, especially when low temperature excess heat is considered, which has variable hourly costs due to the electricity demand for operating a heat pump. The results show that, despite the increased capacity factor of low temperature excess heat when marginal cost biding is used, it remains infeasible when supplying heat to the high temperature district heating networks through a heat market. Therefore, lower temperature district heating is a necessity for a feasible utilisation of low temperature excess heat. Finally, the effect of the power market prices on the low temperature excess heat feasibility was analysed and it was shown that it is significant, which led to the conclusion that introducing a higher share of renewables into the power market could foster the utilisation of these heat sources.
... MCDM technique -ASPID -is used for the evaluation. Rutz et al. (2019) analysed district heating system in five South East European countries and assessed sustainability of the transition from current fossil based to renewable based heating sector. A framework of ten indicators reflecting traditional sustainability understanding is used in the study (3 economic, 3 social and 4 environmental indicators). ...
... Chen, Wang, and Lund (2020) in the assessment of the sustainability of district heating systems singled out indicators that reflect energy consumption into a separate dimension named Energy indicators. However, in general, the indicators used in the study are very similar to those used by Rutz et al. (2019). ...
Decarbonization of heating sector is an important part of the global low carbon energy transition, and an essential step towards implementing climate change mitigation commitments as this sector accounts for 40–50% of global energy consumption and is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, this sector is sensitive in terms of energy vulnerability and energy poverty. The aim of this paper is to develop a set of indicators and evaluation tool for assessing sustainability of the heating sector at national level and to apply developed methodology for comparative assessment in selected North European countries. The set of indicators developed address concept of sustainability in holistic way and could also be applied universally to compare the European Union (EU) countries and to track the achievements of measures taken at the EU level and in national energy strategies and plans. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) performed by applying the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and four scenarios of heating sector sustainability assessment revealed that three Nordic Countries are the highest ranked according to all sustainability assessment scenarios. These countries can be the cases of the best practice in the heating sector.
... Overall upgrade district heating grid approach should lead to more efficient district heating network and sustainable solution for the heating sector. In this paper, the upgrading method is demonstrated on Tuzla DH, one of demo-cases considered under Upgrade DH Project, [8][9][10][11]. ...
District heating networks present a high potential for the transition of the heat energy sector, both technically and organisationally. They allow integration of renewable energy, improve the overall energy efficiency, as well as facilitate sector coupling (coupling between heating, electricity and mobility). Many district heating systems could be upgraded by improvements at the side of the heat consumption, heat distribution and heat generation. The EU project Upgrade DH (H2020; Contract No. 785014; www.upgrade-DH.eu) supports the upgrading and retrofitting process of DH systems in different climate regions of Europe, covering various countries. Core activities of the Upgrade DH project include the collection of the best upgrading measures and tools, the support of the upgrading process for selected district heating networks, the organisation of capacity building measures about DH upgrading, financing and business models, as well as the development of national and regional action plans. Overall Upgrade DH approach should lead to more efficient district heating networks and sustainable solution for the heating sector. The specific upgrading opportunities need to be identified, described, assessed and translated into Key Performance Indicators (KPI) which may allow the results to be monitored as the action gets implemented. In this paper, the upgrading method is demonstrated on Tuzla DH, one of demo-cases considered under Upgrade DH project. In developing the upgrading measures for Tuzla DH, three measurable objectives 20/20/20 were taken into account, namely (i) 20% increasing energy efficiency (reducing annual primary energy demand from 350 GWh down to 270 GWh), (ii) 20% increasing RES (from 0 up to 20% of RES) and (iii) 20% reducing CO2 emission (CO2 cut from today 115,000 t/a emitted in producing 350 GWh of heat down to max. 92,000 tCO2/a. By identified and prepared upgrading measures, those targets are highly exceeded.
... Numerical example In order to model the scenarios, the numerical example has been analysed by using the data for the city of Ozalj, a small rural city in the north-west Croatia, with the population of 1,880. The input data on heat demands and capacities of heat production technologies have been taken from the previous research [22], as well as from the CoolHeating project [36], where the detailed survey of the population has been carried out, providing a comprehensive insight into the energy consumption of the citizens. By using these data, heat demand has been calculated and it amounts to 69.4 GWh. ...
In areas with higher heat demand densities, district heating is the most logical way of achieving heat sector decarbonisation aims, especially when renewable energy or highly efficient cogeneration is used. However, excess heat from industry is also recognized as a valuable source with the high potential for utilization. It increases the economic and environmental viability of the system due to the low operation, investment and conventional energy costs. The main goal of this work was to define the effect of the main factors influencing the levelized cost of excess heat. The paper provided the feasibility of excess heat utilization in different district heating configurations, including solar collectors, cogeneration, peak load boilers, heat pumps and heat storages, showing that its overall utilization can be much lower than the expected 100% of the overall availability depending on the configuration. Furthermore, temperature levels of the excess heat source have been considered in the analysis to show changes in levelized cost of excess heat with different temperatures and the necessary preconditions for its utilization. It has been concluded that it is necessary to reduce the supply temperature of district heating in order to make the low temperature excess heat sources feasible.
... Significant research has been already performed on the topic of the integration of renewables in DH, showing benefits of different combinations including solar thermal and thermal storage [5], adding biomass to the previous combination [6], as well as combining heat pumps with solar thermal [7], but also using geothermal energy [8]. These systems provide substantial benefits from both the economic and the environmental point of view, as was shown for 5 different cities in south eastern Europe [9], but also in Ref. [10]. This proves to be the one of the main reasons for customer connection to district heating, as shown in Ref. [11]. ...
... For that reason, a numerical example has been studied. It is based on the data acquired through the CoolHeating project for the city of Ozalj in central Croatia [9], which details the heat demand and potential revenues, i.e. energy prices. Therefore, the scenarios developed as a part of this research will be compared with the Reference scenario, a starting point for this analysis which presents a technical concept developed for the city as a part of the CoolHeating project. ...
District heating systems already play an important role in increasing the sustainability of the heating sector and decreasing its environmental impact. However, a high share of these systems is old and inefficient and therefore needs to change towards the 4th generation district heating, which will incorporate various energy sources, including renewables and excess heat of different origins. Especially excess heat from industrial and service sector facilities is an interesting source since its potential has already been proven to be highly significant, with some researches showing that it could cover the heat demand of the entire residential and service sector in Europe. However, most analysis of its utilization in district heating are not done on the hourly level, therefore not taking into account the variability of its availability. For that reason, the main goal of this work was to analyse the integration of industrial excess heat into the district heating system consisting of different configurations, including the zero fuel cost technologies like solar thermal. Furthermore, cogeneration units were a part of every simulated configuration, providing the link to the power sector. Excess heat was shown to decrease the operation of peak load boiler and cogeneration, that way decreasing the costs and environmental effect of the system. However, since its hourly availability differs from the heat demand, thermal storage needs to be implemented in order to increase the utilization of this source. The analysis was performed on the hourly level in the energyPRO software.
Heating and cooling account for 50% of the European Union's energy consumption and, therefore, reducing its impact is essential to minimise dependency on energy imports (particularly fossil fuel), which are bound to geopolitical conflicts. District heating arises as a critical player in this transition towards a more efficient energy framework. Despite its numerous advantages, implementation is still hindered by inadequate District Heating business models and incentives. This study conducts a holistic examination on the feasibility, effectiveness and, ultimately, the efficiency of establishing a publicly owned and public-privately managed District Heating infrastructure network via a pilot intervention in the city of San Sebastian in the north of Spain. A Value Proposition Canvas, Value Creation Ecosystem and City Model Canvas analysis provides insight into fundamental patterns and relevant recommendations for other municipalities trying to find a business model in which all the involved stakeholders can capture value while addressing at the same time the energy challenges of cities.
