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Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study

Author

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  • Erica Corradi

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, Italy
    Astea S.p.A., 60027 Ancona, Italy)

  • Mosè Rossi

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Alice Mugnini

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Anam Nadeem

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Gabriele Comodi

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Alessia Arteconi

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, Italy
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 300, Heverlee, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium)

  • Danilo Salvi

    (Astea S.p.A., 60027 Ancona, Italy)

Abstract

District heating (DH) is an alternative technology to Individual Heating (IH) for satisfying end-user’s needs. This paper assesses the competitiveness of a DH network in the center of Italy from energy, environmental, and economic points of view considering both thermal power plant and end-users’ sides. On the thermal power plant side, the energy analysis considers the Primary Energy Saving (PES) and the specific energy (E sp ) of the fuel actually exploited in the thermal power plant compared to its Low Heating Value (LHV), while the environmental analysis considers the avoided CO 2 and the economic analysis considers the Energy Efficiency Certificates (EECs). Results showed that the current thermal power plant configuration with two boilers and a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit reaches a yearly PES of 21.3% as well as 1099 tCO 2 avoided. From the economic analysis of the thermal power plant side, 829 EECs with an economic return of 207,222€ are obtained, while from the end-users’ side the DH network is cheaper than IH in 84.7% of the cases. Further technologies are also studied to enhance the CHP unit flexibility.

Suggested Citation

  • Erica Corradi & Mosè Rossi & Alice Mugnini & Anam Nadeem & Gabriele Comodi & Alessia Arteconi & Danilo Salvi, 2021. "Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-25, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:22:p:7783-:d:683740
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    2. Silvia Ravelli, 2022. "District Heating and Cooling towards Net Zero," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-2, August.

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