Volume 16: Low Carbon Cities and Urban Energy Systems: Part V

Conversion of Existing District Heating into Solar District Heating Michele Salvestroni, Leonardo Nibbi, Gianmarco Paone, Giacomo Pierucci, Maurizio De Lucia

Abstract

Solar District Heating (SDH) systems combined with Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) are one of the most interesting available strategies to decarbonize the residential sector in Europe, where most of the energy is presently provided by fossil fuels. The present work analyses both technically and economically the retrofitting of an existing district heating based on a biomass boiler into a SDH with STES, comparing two different SDH configurations: a single network, and few separated smaller networks, both serving the same actual heat demand. Dynamic modelling of both systems was carried out using TRNSYS (Transient System Simulation) software. The results of the simulations are then presented and discussed.

Keywords Solar district heating, Seasonal thermal energy storage, TRNSYS, Buildings, Parabolic trough collectors