Heat pumps as a way to Low or Zero Emission district heating systems

Abstract

In traditional district heating (DH) system heat is generated f om fossil fuel (FF) combustion in heating only boilers (HOB) or in combined heat and power (CHP) plants. It results in greenhouse gases and other pollutants emission. The reduction of emission is one of the main target in EU climate policy. Among the alternative technologies in DH heat pumps (HP) play a crucial role and enable to decrease or even eliminate emission to create a low or zero emission (LZE) DH system. The emission reduction effect of integration the large scale HP units into DH systems can by defined by four groups of factors: the share of HP in the heat demand, the heat source for HP, the driving energy for HP and heat sink for HP. This paper illustrates the main options for large scale HP units application for LZE DH based on HP technology.