Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes

This study presents an approach to determine the extent of renovation interventions required for existing Dutch dwellings aiming to transition to lower-temperature district heating (DH) systems. The proposed method is applied to a typical intermediate terraced house built before 1945 in the Netherla...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Prateek Wahi, Thaleia Konstantinou, Martin J. Tenpierik, Henk Visscher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-10-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/10/2524
_version_ 1797574445613711360
author Prateek Wahi
Thaleia Konstantinou
Martin J. Tenpierik
Henk Visscher
author_facet Prateek Wahi
Thaleia Konstantinou
Martin J. Tenpierik
Henk Visscher
author_sort Prateek Wahi
collection DOAJ
description This study presents an approach to determine the extent of renovation interventions required for existing Dutch dwellings aiming to transition to lower-temperature district heating (DH) systems. The proposed method is applied to a typical intermediate terraced house built before 1945 in the Netherlands, and it consists of two steps: first, assessing the potential of a dwelling to be heated with a lower temperature supply from DH systems and subsequently developing and evaluating alternative renovation solutions if necessary. This study defines a set of criteria for evaluating the readiness of a dwelling for lower-temperature heating (LTH), considering energy efficiency and thermal comfort as non-compensatory criteria. The application of the approach reveals that the case study dwelling is presently unsuitable for a medium-temperature (70/50 °C) and low-temperature (55/35 °C) supply compared to a high-temperature supply (90/70 °C), thus requiring energy renovations. Furthermore, this study indicates that moderate intervention levels are required for the dwelling to be lower-temperature-ready in both supply temperature goals. These interventions include strategies and measures that upgrade the building envelope to the minimum insulation levels stipulated by the Dutch Building Decree, improve airtightness, and replace existing radiators with low-temperature radiators. By systematically narrowing down renovation options, this approach aids in simplifying the decision-making process for selecting renovations for heating dwellings with LTH through DH systems, which could reduce stakeholders’ decision paralysis.
first_indexed 2024-03-10T21:22:40Z
format Article
id doaj.art-88ae0ba2a80a4bcc8d388ac000d30de9
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2075-5309
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-10T21:22:40Z
publishDate 2023-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Buildings
spelling doaj.art-88ae0ba2a80a4bcc8d388ac000d30de92023-11-19T15:55:34ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-10-011310252410.3390/buildings13102524Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch HomesPrateek Wahi0Thaleia Konstantinou1Martin J. Tenpierik2Henk Visscher3Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The NetherlandsFaculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The NetherlandsFaculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The NetherlandsFaculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The NetherlandsThis study presents an approach to determine the extent of renovation interventions required for existing Dutch dwellings aiming to transition to lower-temperature district heating (DH) systems. The proposed method is applied to a typical intermediate terraced house built before 1945 in the Netherlands, and it consists of two steps: first, assessing the potential of a dwelling to be heated with a lower temperature supply from DH systems and subsequently developing and evaluating alternative renovation solutions if necessary. This study defines a set of criteria for evaluating the readiness of a dwelling for lower-temperature heating (LTH), considering energy efficiency and thermal comfort as non-compensatory criteria. The application of the approach reveals that the case study dwelling is presently unsuitable for a medium-temperature (70/50 °C) and low-temperature (55/35 °C) supply compared to a high-temperature supply (90/70 °C), thus requiring energy renovations. Furthermore, this study indicates that moderate intervention levels are required for the dwelling to be lower-temperature-ready in both supply temperature goals. These interventions include strategies and measures that upgrade the building envelope to the minimum insulation levels stipulated by the Dutch Building Decree, improve airtightness, and replace existing radiators with low-temperature radiators. By systematically narrowing down renovation options, this approach aids in simplifying the decision-making process for selecting renovations for heating dwellings with LTH through DH systems, which could reduce stakeholders’ decision paralysis.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/10/2524district heating systemslower-temperature heatingenergy renovationsexisting dwellingsdecision-making process
spellingShingle Prateek Wahi
Thaleia Konstantinou
Martin J. Tenpierik
Henk Visscher
Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes
Buildings
district heating systems
lower-temperature heating
energy renovations
existing dwellings
decision-making process
title Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes
title_full Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes
title_fullStr Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes
title_full_unstemmed Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes
title_short Lower-Temperature-Ready Renovation: An Approach to Identify the Extent of Renovation Interventions for Lower-Temperature District Heating in Existing Dutch Homes
title_sort lower temperature ready renovation an approach to identify the extent of renovation interventions for lower temperature district heating in existing dutch homes
topic district heating systems
lower-temperature heating
energy renovations
existing dwellings
decision-making process
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/10/2524
work_keys_str_mv AT prateekwahi lowertemperaturereadyrenovationanapproachtoidentifytheextentofrenovationinterventionsforlowertemperaturedistrictheatinginexistingdutchhomes
AT thaleiakonstantinou lowertemperaturereadyrenovationanapproachtoidentifytheextentofrenovationinterventionsforlowertemperaturedistrictheatinginexistingdutchhomes
AT martinjtenpierik lowertemperaturereadyrenovationanapproachtoidentifytheextentofrenovationinterventionsforlowertemperaturedistrictheatinginexistingdutchhomes
AT henkvisscher lowertemperaturereadyrenovationanapproachtoidentifytheextentofrenovationinterventionsforlowertemperaturedistrictheatinginexistingdutchhomes