RELaTED, decentralized & renewable Ultra Low Temperature District Heating, concept conversion from traditional district heating

Abstract

District Heating (DH) are a very efficient system for heating in urban areas and they are considered as key elements for the de-carbonization of the European Cities. High performance levels and low operational energy costs are part of the identity of these heating networks. The reduction of supply-line temperatures allows the possibility to introduce new low-grade and renewable source energy production, reducing dependence on fossil fuel-based energy plants. Moreover, heat-losses in distribution pipelines are also reduced, since the gradient temperature between supply line and ambient temperature is reduced. Operation of decentralized & Ultra Low Temperature (ULT) systems may adapt for the introduction of weather-dependent, distributed heat sources such as solar systems. Furthermore, although very dependent on local availability, waste heat streams from commercial and industrial installations are also considered because of the stability of heat supply all year round, resulting in minimally carbon intensive processes. Regarding building features, the reduced heat load derived from the transition from current buildings to Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), RELaTED allows for the novel concept called prosumer, where buildings can deliver energy to the grid from decentralized energy sources installed in the building. In RELaTED, different subsystems are being developed by different industrial partners, to prove their efficiency in 4 real demonstration sites: Tartu (Estonia), Belgrade (Serbia), Vinge (Denmark) and Iurreta (Spain). A 3-FS (3-Function Scheme) DH substation that permits buildings to become prosumers. Two types of solar collectors, one is an all polymeric glazed collector and the second one is an unglazed collector, both as components of Building Integrated Large Solar Thermal Systems (BILSTS) solar loop. Finally, a reversible and high efficiency heat pump for domestic hot water is being developed. In this paper, an approach to ULT concept is studied, including transitory phases of the conversion.