IEA DHC Annex XIV project 02 „FAST DHC - Feasibility Assessment Tool for District Heating and Cooling“

The transformation of district heating and cooling systems is often referred to as the transition from the first to the fourth generation (4GDH). Recently, hybrid solutions have been introduced, so-called 'thermal source networks (TSN)', also known as 5th generation or anergy networks. The innovation in TSNs is the integration of consumer-side heat pumps (HPs), which can raise the grid temperature to the requirements of the building. They also enable heating and cooling to be supplied via a single network.

The aim of the project is to develop and demonstrate a simple decision support tool for the techno-economic performance evaluation of 4GDH and thermal source networks, which is also able to compare both systems to individual heating and cooling (H&C) solutions – the FAST tool.

The FAST tool will allow users to input a few relevant parameters, specify H&C demand and supply options, and the economic feasibility of different network configurations can be calculated in comparison to each other and to the chosen reference energy costs (individual H&C solutions).

Results:

1. A tool that allows users to compare the relative merits of each DHC/H&C technology, providing much better clarity on how/where each system may be used. The tool will be publicly available as an online version with a user-friendly interface. All relevant documentation will also be provided;
2. Test cases and feasibility studies for comparing the implementation of 4GDH networks and TSNs as opposed to individual H&C technologies.
3. Target-group-specific dissemination of project results and scientific exploitation.

UK (lead), Austria, Denmark

Project partner

Nicolas MARX
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH
Giefinggasse 6, 1210 Vienna
E-Mail: nicolas.marx@ait.ac.at