Daily Research Sheets

In the future, non-fossil fuels would be used to provide heating across all district regions. That means all possible and available renewable energy sources have to be looked for and integrate into current heating systems. The incorporation of renewable sources would be successful only if there will be affordable costs, equipment availability, and affordable installation.

The approach used shows that regional heating systems would be more complex soon. Therefore, the best solutions have to be found to integrate renewable energy effectively. All available sources must be utilized effectively during incorporation.

There is no going back because actions must be taken. Any good and reliable energy source that is already existing cannot be taken for granted because we need a cheap and non-polluting future that would, in turn, change the climatic state.

The long-term would undoubtedly be highly valued and reputable for recycling energy wastes as sources of heat energy. The idea would be better than when unnecessary resources are available, yet the world is suffering from a deficit of over-using little resources.

Solutions have to put in place before heat production level is acquired. All available heating systems would be streamlined with all possibilities to reduce impacts on climate change and resource unavailability.

Challenges faced

The prevailing challenge here is that most alternative sources of renewable energy are plenty at the time demand is at its lowest, and the reverse is true. For instance, substantial solar panels utilize sunshine to release district heating. In some factories, they might require the merging of production amenities with huge storages to provide stability. Here, technology has to be utilized on a large scale, which appears too intricate and unaffordable.

If some utilities decide to start on a smaller scale, they can cover the part of the summer load as a start. After that, if there is an increased need for extra renewable energy, the factory can be loaded with additional solar panels and heat storage facilities.

The problem drives us away from the fact that district heat energy uses can only be produced on large-scale units. Of course, it would still be the central station for the production of heat energy in the future.

How to overcome the challenges

A newly developed concept called iGRID has been designed to divide heating district systems into different zones with an adapted provision of temperature, increasing energy efficiency in district heating systems. The IGRID solution eases integrating renewable energy forms like water energy or extra heat in more miniature scales directly into the system.