Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort
To reduce energy consumption for space heating, a coordinated action on energy supply, building fabric and occupant behavior is required to realize sustainable improvements. A reduction in district heating supply temperature is an interesting option to allow the incorporation of renewable energy sou...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/1/25 |
| _version_ | 1797543767920607232 |
|---|---|
| author | Benedetta Grassi Edoardo Alessio Piana Gian Paolo Beretta Mariagrazia Pilotelli |
| author_facet | Benedetta Grassi Edoardo Alessio Piana Gian Paolo Beretta Mariagrazia Pilotelli |
| author_sort | Benedetta Grassi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To reduce energy consumption for space heating, a coordinated action on energy supply, building fabric and occupant behavior is required to realize sustainable improvements. A reduction in district heating supply temperature is an interesting option to allow the incorporation of renewable energy sources and reduce distribution losses, but its impact on the final users must be considered. This aspect is especially critical as most European countries feature an old building stock, with poor insulation and heating systems designed for high-temperature operation. In this study, a complete methodology is devised to evaluate the effect of district heating temperature reduction on the end users by modeling all the stages of the system, from the primary heat exchanger to the indoor environment. A dynamic energy performance engine, based on EN ISO 52016-1:2017 standard and completed with a heat exchanger model, is implemented, and its outputs are used to calculate thermal comfort indicators throughout the heating season. As a practical application, the method is used to evaluate different scenarios resulting from the reduction of primary supply temperature of a second-generation district heating network in Northern Italy. Several building typologies dating back to different periods are considered, in the conservative assumption of radiator heating. The results of the simulations show that the most severe discomfort situations are experienced in buildings built before 1990, but in recent buildings the amount of discomfort occurrences can be high because of the poor output of radiators when working at very low temperatures. Among the possible measures that could help the transition, actions on the primary side, on the installed power and on the building fabric are considered. The investigation method requires a limited amount of input data and is applicable to different scales, from the individual building to entire urban areas lined up for renovation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:50:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-681299b95b6b43628f909b9a07e0fab0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:50:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-681299b95b6b43628f909b9a07e0fab02023-11-21T02:11:43ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-12-011412510.3390/en14010025Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal ComfortBenedetta Grassi0Edoardo Alessio Piana1Gian Paolo Beretta2Mariagrazia Pilotelli3Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalyTo reduce energy consumption for space heating, a coordinated action on energy supply, building fabric and occupant behavior is required to realize sustainable improvements. A reduction in district heating supply temperature is an interesting option to allow the incorporation of renewable energy sources and reduce distribution losses, but its impact on the final users must be considered. This aspect is especially critical as most European countries feature an old building stock, with poor insulation and heating systems designed for high-temperature operation. In this study, a complete methodology is devised to evaluate the effect of district heating temperature reduction on the end users by modeling all the stages of the system, from the primary heat exchanger to the indoor environment. A dynamic energy performance engine, based on EN ISO 52016-1:2017 standard and completed with a heat exchanger model, is implemented, and its outputs are used to calculate thermal comfort indicators throughout the heating season. As a practical application, the method is used to evaluate different scenarios resulting from the reduction of primary supply temperature of a second-generation district heating network in Northern Italy. Several building typologies dating back to different periods are considered, in the conservative assumption of radiator heating. The results of the simulations show that the most severe discomfort situations are experienced in buildings built before 1990, but in recent buildings the amount of discomfort occurrences can be high because of the poor output of radiators when working at very low temperatures. Among the possible measures that could help the transition, actions on the primary side, on the installed power and on the building fabric are considered. The investigation method requires a limited amount of input data and is applicable to different scales, from the individual building to entire urban areas lined up for renovation.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/1/25dynamic modelenergy performance of buildingslow temperature district heatingindoor comfortrenovationurban scale |
| spellingShingle | Benedetta Grassi Edoardo Alessio Piana Gian Paolo Beretta Mariagrazia Pilotelli Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort Energies dynamic model energy performance of buildings low temperature district heating indoor comfort renovation urban scale |
| title | Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort |
| title_full | Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort |
| title_short | Dynamic Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Reducing District Heating Temperature on Indoor Thermal Comfort |
| title_sort | dynamic approach to evaluate the effect of reducing district heating temperature on indoor thermal comfort |
| topic | dynamic model energy performance of buildings low temperature district heating indoor comfort renovation urban scale |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/1/25 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benedettagrassi dynamicapproachtoevaluatetheeffectofreducingdistrictheatingtemperatureonindoorthermalcomfort AT edoardoalessiopiana dynamicapproachtoevaluatetheeffectofreducingdistrictheatingtemperatureonindoorthermalcomfort AT gianpaoloberetta dynamicapproachtoevaluatetheeffectofreducingdistrictheatingtemperatureonindoorthermalcomfort AT mariagraziapilotelli dynamicapproachtoevaluatetheeffectofreducingdistrictheatingtemperatureonindoorthermalcomfort |