Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study
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’ si...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/22/7783 |
| _version_ | 1797510409983361024 |
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| author | Erica Corradi Mosè Rossi Alice Mugnini Anam Nadeem Gabriele Comodi Alessia Arteconi Danilo Salvi |
| author_facet | Erica Corradi Mosè Rossi Alice Mugnini Anam Nadeem Gabriele Comodi Alessia Arteconi Danilo Salvi |
| author_sort | Erica Corradi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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<sub>sp</sub>) 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<sub>2</sub> 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<sub>2</sub> 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:31:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-011f3b00b10a4988be49110da15dcde3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:31:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-011f3b00b10a4988be49110da15dcde32023-11-22T23:13:21ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-11-011422778310.3390/en14227783Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case StudyErica Corradi0Mosè Rossi1Alice Mugnini2Anam Nadeem3Gabriele Comodi4Alessia Arteconi5Danilo Salvi6Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, 60131 Ancona, ItalyAstea S.p.A., 60027 Ancona, ItalyDistrict 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<sub>sp</sub>) 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<sub>2</sub> 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<sub>2</sub> 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.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/22/7783cogeneration plantdistrict heating networkeconomic analysisenergy efficiencyenvironmental analysisheat pump |
| spellingShingle | Erica Corradi Mosè Rossi Alice Mugnini Anam Nadeem Gabriele Comodi Alessia Arteconi Danilo Salvi Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study Energies cogeneration plant district heating network economic analysis energy efficiency environmental analysis heat pump |
| title | Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study |
| title_full | Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study |
| title_short | Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of a District Heating (DH) Network from Both Thermal Plant and End-Users’ Prospective: An Italian Case Study |
| title_sort | energy environmental and economic analyses of a district heating dh network from both thermal plant and end users prospective an italian case study |
| topic | cogeneration plant district heating network economic analysis energy efficiency environmental analysis heat pump |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/22/7783 |
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