New Co-Simulation Variants for Emissions and Cost Reduction of Sustainable District Heating Planning

Classical heating of residential areas is very energy-intensive, so alternatives are needed, including renewable energies and advanced heating technologies. Thus, the present paper introduces a new methodology for comprehensive variant analysis for future district heating planning, aiming at optimizing emissions and costs. For this, an extensive Modelica-based modelling study comprising models of heating center, heat grid pipelines and heating interface units to buildings are coupled in co-simulations. These enable a comparative analysis of the economic feasibility and sustainability for various technologies and energy carriers to be carried out. The new modular and highly parameterizable building model serves for validation of the introduced heat grid model. The results show that bio-methane as an energy source reduces carbon equivalent emissions by nearly 70% compared to conventional natural gas heating, and the use of hydrogen as an energy source reduces carbon equivalent emissions by 77% when equipped with a heat pump. In addition, the use of ground source heat pumps has a high economic viability when economic benefits are taken into account. The study findings highlight the importance of strategic planning and flexible design in the early stages of district development in order to achieve improved energy efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint.