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Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 22599

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Dr. Simon Pezzutto

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Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Interests: energy economics; circular economy; heating and cooling; R&D funding
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Dr. Antonio Novelli

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Institute for Renewable Energy, EURAC Research, Bolzano/Bozen, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bozen, Italy
Interests: mapping; planning; remote sensing; big data
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heating and cooling (H&C) in buildings and industry accounts for half of EU's energy consumption. According to 2018 figures, approximately 75% of H&C is still generated from fossil fuels while only 19% is generated from renewable energy. While the EU heating market is already well researched since decades, there is a lack of information concerning cooling. Almost no data is available for the air-conditioning (AC) part. A proper investigation to determine this type of information has not been carried out yet. In contrast to space heating, space cooling consumption is growing and growing at EU level. Space cooling consumption is especially growing in Europe’s residential sector. A significant increase of consumption for this type of energy use is expected in coming decades for EU28 Member States (MSs).

The availability of spatialized data on buildings and industry as well as on its energy need (in particular on H&C) at multiple level, is crucial for sustainable strategic heating and cooling planning. In this sense, one of the most important challenges today concerns district heating/cooling (DHC) plants.

This Special Issue will gather original research in the field of mapping and planning of energy systems (in particular on H&C). Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following: space heating, space cooling, domestic hot water (DHW), process heat, process cooling, small power appliances, electricity network, demand response, mapping, remote sensing, big data and planning. The area of investigation is not limited to the EU.

Dr. Simon Pezzutto
Dr. Antonio Novelli
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Heating and Cooling
Mapping
Planning
Big data

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2244 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Process Cooling Market in Europe: Assessment of the Final Energy Consumption for the Year 2016

by Simon Pezzutto, Giulio Quaglini, Philippe Riviere, Lukas Kranzl, Antonio Novelli, Andrea Zambito, Luigi Bottecchia and Eric Wilczynski

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3698; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043698 - 17 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2372

Abstract

This study analysed one of Europe’s most unexplored energy fields: process cooling (PC). The work assessed the final energy consumption (FEC) for PC of the European Union (and United Kingdom) with a 2016 baseline. An extensive literature review of datasets and journal papers was performed to address knowledge gaps by creating a high-quality dataset with factual accuracy, reliability, and completeness. Installed cooling units, equivalent full load hours, energy efficiency levels (seasonal energy performance ratio), and capacities installed were the essential investigated parameters to perform the FEC calculations. The latter were referred to as vapour compression (VC) chillers (air-to-water or water-to-water). Overall, the results of the EU (plus UK) FEC for the PC sector resulted in more than 110 TWh/year, accounting for around 10% of the total energy consumption for electricity in Europe. It is worth mentioning that several non-VC technologies are utilized for PC purposes in various sectors and subsectors primarily in the industry and the tertiary sectors, which are rapidly growing and, therefore, their cooling consumption is increasing. The current research paper aimed to raise awareness of the PC sector by supporting the European Union policies toward a more sustainable and decarbonized industry in the upcoming decades. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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19 pages, 2617 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parametric Urban-Scale Analysis of Space Cooling Energy Needs and Potential Photovoltaic Integration in Residential Districts in South-West Europe

by Andrea Zambito, Giovanni Pernigotto, Simon Pezzutto and Andrea Gasparella

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6521; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116521 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1513

Abstract

The energy needs for space cooling are becoming a significant share of the energy balance of different Member States of the European Union, in particular the Mediterranean countries. This trend has been observed and monitored by the European Union, which has started a number of initiatives to promote the reduction in the energy demand for space cooling and have it satisfied by renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic electrical energy. Nevertheless, even if the potential of those solutions has been widely investigated at the single-building level, this scale of analysis seems not fully adequate to support the definition of the energy policies addressed towards the renovation of the current cities into smart ones, with a large share of their energy demand satisfied with renewable energy. In this framework, this research aims to investigate the topic of building energy performance for space cooling services by adopting an urban-scale approach. In detail, a parametric simulation plan was run with CitySim in order to assess the impact of different quantities, i.e., climate conditions, districts’ and buildings’ geometry features, and the thermal quality of the building envelope, on the overall cooling energy need for districts and the specific building energy performance. Furthermore, the advantages of the integration of photovoltaic systems to supply power to the cooling system were analyzed, identifying the district configurations with the highest potential. For instance, in Athens, the share of space cooling demand satisfied by PV in high-rise nZEB configurations ranges between 64% (Building Density = 0.25) and 87% (Building Density = 1), while in the low-rise nZEB configurations it ranges between 81% (Building Density = 0.25) and 75% (Building Density = 1). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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25 pages, 972 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Evolution of the Cooling Market in the EU27+UK: An Outlook until 2030

by Simon Pezzutto, Giulio Quaglini, Andrea Zambito, Antonio Novelli, Philippe Riviere, Lukas Kranzl and Eric Wilczynski

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4461; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084461 - 8 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1838

Abstract

This study investigates insights concerning the future of the cooling market of the European Union (plus the United Kingdom) and its possible development for the upcoming decade (until 2030). In this manuscript, a qualitative model—Porter’s five forces analysis (PFFA)—and a quantitative tool—multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)—have been applied to produce a forecast and a corresponding validation technique. It has been observed that the MCDA tool came to a similar conclusion as the PFFA methodology, highlighting that, presumably, the cooling market will continue to grow moderately, mainly thanks to research and development (R&D) as the central driving force. Moreover, the latter is strictly connected with R&D developments, economic crises, and the welfare of the European population. Additionally, in this study, an extensive survey conducted on interviews of experts throughout each European country confirmed the slightly positive future developments forecast up to 2030 from the quantitative and qualitative methods mentioned above. The results of the study describe a steady growth of the cooling market in Europe until 2030 of about 1–2% annual increase, for a total gain of 24%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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16 pages, 1508 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recent Advances in District Cooling Diffusion in the EU27+UK: An Assessment of the Market

by Simon Pezzutto, Philippe Riviere, Lukas Kranzl, Andrea Zambito, Giulio Quaglini, Antonio Novelli, Marcus Hummel, Luigi Bottecchia and Eric Wilczynski

Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 4128; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074128 - 30 Mar 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1995

Abstract

The scope of this investigation is to analyze recent advances in district cooling (DC) in Europe (European Union plus the United Kingdom (EU27+UK)). The study focuses on data and information from the past decade and draws a picture for the year 2016. To date, in contrast to the European district heating market, the European DC branch has barely been explored in scientific literature. In the current paper, the data that describe the actual DC market in the EU27+UK—which includes the quantity of DC plants, equivalent full-load hours, and installed capacities as well as the values for seasonal energy efficiency—are collected and then explored using a bottom-up approach. The results indicate that DC is responsible for a minor part of the useful energy demand of Europe for cooling with around 3 TWh/y. Overall, the share of the useful energy demand for DC corresponds with 1 to 2% of the EU27+UK useful energy demand. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the penetration of DC varies considerably from country to country, and eight European Member States appear to not have district cooling systems at all. Lastly, it is observed that DC has been slowly but constantly growing in Europe for decades and is characterized by a high growth potential, particularly in the service sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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24 pages, 5593 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Screening of Cooling Technologies in Europe: Alternatives to Vapour Compression and Possible Market Developments

by Simon Pezzutto, Giulio Quaglini, Philippe Riviere, Lukas Kranzl, Antonio Novelli, Andrea Zambito and Eric Wilczynski

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2971; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052971 - 3 Mar 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3049

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate, review, and assess the recent advances of alternative cooling technologies using traditional vapor compression (VC) systems as a baseline. Around 99% of the final energy consumption used for cooling in the current European market (European Union plus the United Kingdom (EU27 + UK) is supplied by VC technologies. In comparison, the remaining 1% is produced by thermally driven heat pumps (TDHPs). This study focuses on providing a complete taxonomy of cooling technologies. While the EU heating sector is broadly explored in scientific literature, a significant lack of data and information is present in the cooling sector. This study highlights technologies that can potentially compete and eventually replace VC systems within the decade (2030). Among others, the most promising of these are membrane heat pump, transcritical cycle, Reverse Brayton (Bell Coleman cycle), and absorption cooling. However, the latter mentioned technologies still need further research and development (R&D) to become fully competitive with VC technologies. Notably, there are no alternative cooling technologies characterized by higher efficiency and less cost than VC technologies in the EU market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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23 pages, 2597 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Space Cooling Market in Europe: Assessment of the Final Energy Consumption for the Year 2016

by Simon Pezzutto, Giulio Quaglini, Philippe Riviere, Lukas Kranzl, Antonio Novelli, Andrea Zambito, Luigi Bottecchia and Eric Wilczynski

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2667; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052667 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1943

Abstract

This study investigates Europe’s space cooling energy field. The work aims to assess the European Union (plus the United Kingdom) final energy consumption for space cooling in both the residential and service sectors with 2016 as a baseline. An extensive literature review of datasets and journal papers has been conducted to fill the knowledge gaps of the investigated energy branch. The European space cooling market is mainly dominated by vapour compression (VC) technologies which, in this study, have been grouped as room air conditioners (RACs) and centralized air conditioners (CACs). These technology groups have been investigated, and their installed capacities, energy efficiency levels (seasonal energy efficiency ratio—SEER), equivalent full load hours (EFLHs), and amount of space cooling units installed have been identified as essential parameters to calculate the final energy consumption for space cooling. Overall, the total value of the European final energy consumption for the space cooling sector, including both the residential and service sectors, results in 106 TWh/year. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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20 pages, 1561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Final Space Cooling Consumption in the European Transportation Sector

by Giulio Quaglini, Simon Pezzutto, Andrea Grotto and Eric Wilczynski

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031491 - 27 Jan 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2205

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate one of the most underexplored energy fields in scientific research, i.e., final energy consumption (FEC) of space cooling (SC) in the European (EU27+UK) transportation sector with 2019 as a baseline. The fundamentals of this study include a comprehensive literature review as well as the creation of a dataset characterized by completeness and reliability. Different essential input parameters have been investigated and the encountered data and information gaps have been filled. The transportation sector has been broken down into three main categories, namely, light, medium, and heavy vehicles. Throughout the EU27+UK, the number of vehicles, equivalent full load hours (EFLHs), system power capacities, and their related energy efficiency levels have been collected. The collected data and information have been computed and the EU27+UK FEC for space cooling in the transportation sector resulted in more than 125 TWh/year. It is worth underlining that the light vehicles category accounted for the majority of the total FEC, followed by the medium and heavy vehicle categories, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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22 pages, 3916 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Spatially-Explicit Economic and Financial Assessment of Closed-Loop Ground-Source Geothermal Heat Pumps: A Case Study for the Residential Buildings of Valle d’Aosta Region

by Antonio Novelli, Valentina D’Alonzo, Simon Pezzutto, Rubén Aarón Estrada Poggio, Alessandro Casasso and Pietro Zambelli

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12516; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212516 - 12 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2136

Abstract

Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) take advantage of the high thermal inertia of the ground to achieve a higher energy efficiency compared to Air Source Heat Pumps. GSHPs, therefore, have the potential to reduce heating, cooling, and domestic hot water costs, however the high installation cost of borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) limits the growth of such installations. Nevertheless, GSHPs can be profitable under certain conditions (climate, expensive fuels, subsidies, etc.), which can be identified using geo-referenced data and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The proposed work investigates the economic and financial ability of GSHPs to cover the heat demand of the residential building stock of the Italian region Valle d’Aosta. To identify the opportunities offered by GSHPs in the Valle d’Aosta region, more than 40,000 residential buildings were analyzed using a GIS-based method. The return on the investment was then assessed based on the occurrence of two conditions—the Italian subsidies of the “Conto Termico” and the installation of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems—which contribute to the reduction of the initial and operation costs, respectively. The life-cycle costs of the four resulting combinations were compared with conventional systems composed of an oil/gas boiler and an air-source chiller. One of the main findings of this study is that subsidies exert a key role in the financial feasibility of GSHPs, especially for replacing gas boilers, whereas the presence of a PV system has a minor influence on the financial analysis carried out. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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34 pages, 4464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decarbonizing District Heating in EU-27 + UK: How Much Excess Heat Is Available from Industrial Sites?

by Pia Manz, Katerina Kermeli, Urban Persson, Marius Neuwirth, Tobias Fleiter and Wina Crijns-Graus

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1439; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031439 - 29 Jan 2021

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3714

Abstract

Energy-intensive industries across the EU-28 release unused heat into the environment. This excess heat can be utilized for district heating systems. However, this is the exception today, and the potential contribution to the decarbonization of district heating is not well quantified. An estimation of excess heat, based on industrial processes, and spatial matching to district heating areas is necessary. We present a georeferenced industrial database with annual production and excess heat potentials at different temperature levels matched with current and possible district heating areas. Our results show a total potential of 960 PJ/a (267 TWh/a) of excess heat when the exhaust gases are cooled down to 25 °C, with 47% of the 1.608 studied industrial sites inside or within a 10 km distance of district heating areas. The calculated potentials reveal that currently 230 PJ/a (64 TWh/a) of excess heat is available for district heating areas, about 17% of today’s demand of buildings for district heating. In the future, widespread and low-temperature district heating areas increase the available excess heat to 258 PJ/a (72 TWh/a) at 55 °C or 679 PJ/a (189 TWh/a) at 25 °C. We show that industrial excess heat can substantially contribute to decarbonize district heating, however, the major share of heat will need to be supplied by renewables. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heating and Cooling: Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems)

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