EU Emission Targets of 2050: Costs and CO 2 Emissions Comparison of Three Different Solar and Heat Pump-Based Community-Level District Heating Systems in Nordic Conditions

Hassam ur Rehman, Janne Hirvonen, Juha Jokisalo, Risto Kosonen and Kai Sirén
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Hassam ur Rehman: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Vuorimiehentie 3, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Janne Hirvonen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Juha Jokisalo: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Risto Kosonen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Kai Sirén: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-31

Abstract: In Finland, old apartments (1980s) contribute toward emissions. The objective is to reduce CO 2 emissions to reach Europe’s targets of 2050. Three different centralized solar-based district heating systems integrated either with non-renovated or renovated old buildings in the community were simulated and compared against the reference city-level district heating system. The three proposed centralized systems were: Case 1: photovoltaic (PV) with a ground source heat pump (GSHP); Case 2: PV with an air-water heat pump (A2WHP); and Case 3: PV with A2WHPs, seasonal storage, and GSHPs. TRNSYS simulation software was used for dynamic simulation of the systems. Life cycle cost (LCC), CO 2 emissions and purchased electricity were calculated and compared. The results show that the community-level district heating system (Case 3) outperformed Case 1, Case 2, and the city-level district heating. With non-renovated buildings, the relative emissions reduction was 83% when the reference energy system was replaced with Case 3 and the emissions reduction cost was 3.74 €/kg.CO 2 /yr. The relative emissions reduction was 91% when the buildings were deep renovated and integrated with Case 3 when compared to the reference system with non-renovated buildings and the emission reduction cost was 11.9 €/kg.CO 2 /yr. Such district heating systems could help in meeting Europe’s emissions target for 2050.

Keywords: PV and heat pump-based centralized district heating system; district heating CO 2 emissions; seasonal storage; community scale solutions; old apartment buildings renovation; Nordic conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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