District Heating
Table of Contents
Introduction
"District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating. The heat is often obtained from a cogeneration plant burning fossil fuels or biomass, but heat-only boiler stations, geothermal heating, heat pumps and central solar heating are also used, as well as heat waste from factories and nuclear power electricity generation. District heating plants can provide higher efficiencies and better pollution control than localized boilers. According to some research, district heating with combined heat and power (CHPDH) is the cheapest method of cutting carbon emissions, and has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all fossil generation plants.[1]
District heating is ranked number 27 in Project Drawdown's 100 solutions to global warming.[2][3]" - Wikipedia: District Heating
Benefits of District Heating
Climate-Resilient Power Storage
Energy Saving & Emissions Reducing
District heating has been found to be much more efficient than communities relying on many smaller, private water heaters. Even those that use fossil fuels to heat the water were found to help prevent emissions.
Pairs Well with Sustainable Energy
Solar and wind may fluctuate, but they pair well with technologies such as thermal storage, which can keep water warmed with excess renewable energy for around 13 hours.
Divestment from Fossil Fuels
Being able to heat communities with renewable or waste energy means a faster transition away from fossil fuels. Even in the case of district heating with fossil fuels, the fact that these systems are more efficient means that less of these fuels need to be used in the first place.
Components of District Heating
Energy Sources
Biofuels & Biomass
Fossil Fuels
Renewables
Waste Energy
"Gas boilers heat around 85% of homes in the UK, but their installation in new homes is to be banned from 2025. While heating produces over a third of the country's CO₂ emissions, there are only two low-carbon heating alternatives that most people hear about: heat pumps or hydrogen boilers.
Heat pumps are like a refrigerator working backwards: they use electricity to run a compressor, which transfers heat from the outside to the inside. Hydrogen boilers are just another sort of gas boiler, designed to burn hydrogen instead of the fossil fuel natural gas.
Yet there is a third option we don't hear much about which has been around for centuries and experts believe could heat around 18% of UK homes by 2050. District heating, as it's known, could be keeping you warm in the near future by recycling heat from sewer drains, abandoned coal mines or even the London Underground." - Tech Xplore
Data Center Waste Energy
Metro Heat Waste
Sewage Plants
Energy Storage
Thermal Storage
Some cities and islands are now turning to thermal storage which usually involved using a "giant thermos" or in one case, an abandoned underground oil storage depot. These can take waste energy to heat water which will remain hot for around 13 hours.
Organizations
International
Global Ecovillage Network An umbrella organization for sustainable communities, initiatives and ecologically-minded individuals worldwide.
International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) was founded in 1985 by the late Dr. Henry L. Lennard, a Viennese medical sociologist, and the late Dr Suzanne C. Lennard, an English architectural scholar. The Lennards were passionate about sharing the best evidence-based lessons of great cities and towns to improve the quality of life for all. To do it, they brought together many of the world’s most innovative and successful mayors, planners, economic development specialists, designers, developers, NGO officials, and researchers and scholars.
The mission of the IMCL has always been to raise awareness, through conferences and publications, of the effects of urban planning on livability, health and social well-being. Conferences have been held annually in the United States and Europe. They are unique in enabling city officials, architects, planners, developers, community leaders, behavioral and public health scientists, artists and others responsible for the livability of their cities to exchange experiences, ideas and expertise. The varied perspectives provide deeper understanding of the issues and generate creative solutions."
Asia
The Asia Society Policy Institute "works with policymakers, scientists, economists, business leaders, and experts from other fields to enhance the regional and global fight against climate change through accelerating the transition to net zero emissions, carbon pricing, clean energy and climate diplomacy."
Livable Cities "... has three operational approaches or pillars: Improve coverage, quality efficiency, and reliability of services in urban areas; strengthen urban planning and financial sustainability of cities; and improve urban environment, climate resilience and disaster management of cities.
With 65% of people in Asia and the Pacific set to live in cities by 2050, we have gathered stories and lessons that will ensure cities in Asia and the Pacific are inclusive, competitive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient."
North America
Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.
Canada
Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.
USA
The Cohousing Association of the United States An active organization that promotes cohousing in America through conferences, workshops, tours, database directory, networking and more.
Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.
California
Civic Well "supports leaders responding to the climate crisis and its impact on their communities. As a nonprofit organization, we inspire, equip, connect, and cultivate leaders working toward a more sustainable and resilient future.
We know that innovation happens when communities name their own challenges and define their own visions. Through policy guidance, collaborative partnerships, and direct assistance, we support and equip communities to bring those visions to life."
Maps
North America
USA
Grants & Funding
Asia
Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:
Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
North America
USA
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program "provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants."
Power Forward Communities "is a coalition of some of the country’s most trusted housing, climate, and community investment groups dedicated to decarbonizing and transforming American housing. We’re saving homeowners and renters money, reinvesting in communities, and tackling the climate crisis."
Self-Help Credit Union "Our mission is creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, rural residents and low-wealth families and communities.
Self-Help Credit Union has branches in NC, SC, FL and VA, and we offer remote services like online and mobile banking to make joining us easy no matter where you live." "We're poised to use a major funding award from the EPA to help create a clean energy future for all."
Connecticut
The Connecticut Green Bank "is the nation’s first green bank"