The commonality of infrastructure systems is that they enable not only cost-optimized opera- tion but also a cost-stable operation. District energy systems, whether district heating or cooling, are no different. By careful thermal planning, identification of possible heat or cool sources, and applying a favorable mix of thermal generation technologies, the district energy utilities can ensure optimal thermal generation cost, exceptional cost stability, and operational resilience. This article highlights the importance of choosing the optimal heat generation technology mix based on both investment costs (CAPEX) as well as operating costs (OPEX). By adopting mul- ti-source operation, district energy utilities can significantly reduce the thermal generation cost compared to single-source operation.
By Oddgeir Gudmundsson
Jan Eric Thorsen
Directors, Climate Solutions, Danfoss A/S, Nordborg, Denmark
I. Introduction District heating systems have many desirable attributes addressing our modern-day challenges. In Northern Europe, they have proved to be exceptionally effective in decarbo nizing building heating demands and enablers of a future smart and efficient energy system. In Ukraine, they have proven to be exceptionally resilient to bombings during the Russian war on Ukraine. The Ukrainian cities with district heating sys- tems, even as outdated as they are, have proven to have safer, more reliable, more stable, and more predictable heat supply than cities with individual heating. In the United Kingdom, district heating is recognized as an important solution to fight
energy poverty. The key reason for the multi-criteria success of district heating is the fact that aggregating the demands of all connecting users enables access to a pool of diverse heat generation technologies. By properly combining heat sources and generation technologies, the district heating utility can ensure low heat costs, long-term cost stability, resilience to disruptions in energy vectors, and in the end, a reliable and future-proof heat supply operating in synergy with the overall energy system.
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