Introduction With the increasing focus on decarbonizing our societies, exploring synergies between the energy sectors is essential, as taking advantage of synergies will increase both the speed and the cost of decarbonization. As temperature requirements of building thermal demands are low, they have the potential to play a crucial role in decarbonizing the energy system. To realize the potential, it is vital that buildings’ thermal demands and generation can be decoupled over an extended period. The solution is district heating and cooling (DHC), which enables the decoupling and cost-effective utilization of local renewable energy sources. However, for DHC to be part of the future, there are five prerequisites, we need DH to be:
Already today, digitalization is having a profound impact on the DHC concept, where its interactions include:
the overall energy system, the thermal plants,
the distribution system, the end-user substations, the building technical installations, engagement with end-users.
Tying all these interaction points together offers a unique opportunity to achieve an end-to-end optimization solution for realizing the most sustainable and cost-effective operation, benefiting the end-users and society. To realize the full potential of digitalization, numerous challenges, with varying complexities, must be overcome. Heterogeneity of DHC systems One of the many interesting aspects of the DHC sector is its local uniqueness and operation. The uniqueness of each system originates from the varying local conditions due to climate, geographical features, network layouts, available Challenge
robust, yet flexible, reliable and secure, yet open and supportive to other sectors,
green, yet sustainable, local, yet acting global, widespread, yet affordable.
To live up to these expectations, embracing and fully integrating digital solutions into the DHC concept is essential.
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