IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v37y2009i11p4711-4719.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental impacts of the infrastructure for district heating in urban neighbourhoods

Author

Listed:
  • Oliver-Solà, Jordi
  • Gabarrell, Xavier
  • Rieradevall, Joan

Abstract

District heating is a technology for distributing centrally produced heat for space heating and sanitary hot-water generation for residential and commercial uses. The objectives are to identify which subsystems and components of a district heating grid are the main contributors to the overall impact of the infrastructure; and provide environmentally oriented design strategies for the future eco-redesign of these kinds of infrastructures. This paper performs a life-cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the environmental impacts of a district heating infrastructure in an urban neighbourhood context. The analysis covers seven subsystems (power plant, main grid, auxiliary components of the main grid, trench works, service pipes, buildings and dwellings) and twelve standard components. The results for the subsystems show that the sources of impact are not particularly located in the main grid (less than 7.1% contribution in all impact categories), which is the focus of attention in the literature, but in the power plants and dwelling components. These two subsystems together contribute from 40% to 92% to the overall impact depending on the impact categories. Concerning the components, only a reduced number are responsible for the majority of the environmental impact. This facilitates identifying effective strategies for the redesign of the infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliver-Solà, Jordi & Gabarrell, Xavier & Rieradevall, Joan, 2009. "Environmental impacts of the infrastructure for district heating in urban neighbourhoods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4711-4719, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:37:y:2009:i:11:p:4711-4719
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301-4215(09)00441-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agrell, Per J. & Bogetoft, Peter, 2005. "Economic and environmental efficiency of district heating plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1351-1362, July.
    2. Oliver-Solà, Jordi & Gabarrell, Xavier & Rieradevall, Joan, 2009. "Environmental impacts of natural gas distribution networks within urban neighborhoods," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(10), pages 1915-1924, October.
    3. Bowitz, Einar & Dang Trong, Maj, 2001. "The social cost of district heating in a sparsely populated country," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(13), pages 1163-1173, November.
    4. Bardouille, Pepukaye & Koubsky, Jan, 2000. "Incorporating sustainable development considerations into energy sector decision-making: Malmo Flintranen district heating facility case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(10), pages 689-711, August.
    5. Gustavsson, L & Karlsson, Å, 2003. "Heating detached houses in urban areas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 28(8), pages 851-875.
    6. Eriksson, Ola & Finnveden, Goran & Ekvall, Tomas & Bjorklund, Anna, 2007. "Life cycle assessment of fuels for district heating: A comparison of waste incineration, biomass- and natural gas combustion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 1346-1362, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Bing & Kocaoglu, Dundar F. & Daim, Tugrul U. & Yang, Jiting, 2010. "A decision model for energy resource selection in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7130-7141, November.
    2. Mahaut Vauchez & Jacopo Famiglietti & Kevin Autelitano & Morgane Colombert & Rossano Scoccia & Mario Motta, 2023. "Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Infrastructures: A Comparison of Pipe Typologies in France," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Tongpool, Rungnapa & Jirajariyavech, Athiwatr & Yuvaniyama, Chantana & Mungcharoen, Thumrongrut, 2010. "Analysis of steel production in Thailand: Environmental impacts and solutions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 4192-4200.
    4. Brattebø, Helge & Reenaas, Marte, 2012. "Comparing CO2 and NOX emissions from a district heating system with mass-burn waste incineration versus likely alternative solutions – City of Trondheim, 1986–2009," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 147-158.
    5. Camille Jeandaux & Jean-Baptiste Videau & Anne Prieur-Vernat, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Systems in Europe: Case Study and Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-32, October.
    6. Farreny, R. & Gabarrell, X. & Rieradevall, J., 2011. "Cost-efficiency of rainwater harvesting strategies in dense Mediterranean neighbourhoods," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 686-694.
    7. Colmenar-Santos, Antonio & Rosales-Asensio, Enrique & Borge-Diez, David & Collado-Fernández, Eduardo, 2016. "Evaluation of the cost of using power plant reject heat in low-temperature district heating and cooling networks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 892-907.
    8. Björnebo, Lars & Spatari, Sabrina & Gurian, Patrick L., 2018. "A greenhouse gas abatement framework for investment in district heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1095-1105.
    9. Wang, Haichao & Duanmu, Lin & Lahdelma, Risto & Li, Xiangli, 2017. "Developing a multicriteria decision support framework for CHP based combined district heating systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 345-368.
    10. Martinopoulos, Georgios & Papakostas, Konstantinos T. & Papadopoulos, Agis M., 2018. "A comparative review of heating systems in EU countries, based on efficiency and fuel cost," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 687-699.
    11. Bartolozzi, Irene & Rizzi, Francesco & Frey, Marco, 2017. "Are district heating systems and renewable energy sources always an environmental win-win solution? A life cycle assessment case study in Tuscany, Italy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 408-420.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sayegh, M.A. & Danielewicz, J. & Nannou, T. & Miniewicz, M. & Jadwiszczak, P. & Piekarska, K. & Jouhara, H., 2017. "Trends of European research and development in district heating technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P2), pages 1183-1192.
    2. Colmenar-Santos, Antonio & Rosales-Asensio, Enrique & Borge-Diez, David & Collado-Fernández, Eduardo, 2016. "Evaluation of the cost of using power plant reject heat in low-temperature district heating and cooling networks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 892-907.
    3. Bartolozzi, Irene & Rizzi, Francesco & Frey, Marco, 2017. "Are district heating systems and renewable energy sources always an environmental win-win solution? A life cycle assessment case study in Tuscany, Italy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 408-420.
    4. Rezaie, Behnaz & Rosen, Marc A., 2012. "District heating and cooling: Review of technology and potential enhancements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 2-10.
    5. Lund, Henrik & Werner, Sven & Wiltshire, Robin & Svendsen, Svend & Thorsen, Jan Eric & Hvelplund, Frede & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2014. "4th Generation District Heating (4GDH)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 1-11.
    6. Lund, H. & Möller, B. & Mathiesen, B.V. & Dyrelund, A., 2010. "The role of district heating in future renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1381-1390.
    7. Brkić, Dejan & Tanasković, Toma I., 2008. "Systematic approach to natural gas usage for domestic heating in urban areas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 1738-1753.
    8. Mazhar, Abdur Rehman & Liu, Shuli & Shukla, Ashish, 2018. "A state of art review on the district heating systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 420-439.
    9. Holmgren, Kristina, 2006. "Role of a district-heating network as a user of waste-heat supply from various sources - the case of Göteborg," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(12), pages 1351-1367, December.
    10. Iriarte, Alfredo & Rieradevall, Joan & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2012. "Transition towards a more environmentally sustainable biodiesel in South America: The case of Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 263-273.
    11. Shirzad, Mohammad & Kazemi Shariat Panahi, Hamed & Dashti, Behrouz B. & Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2019. "A comprehensive review on electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through anaerobic digestion of agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 571-594.
    12. Du, Kun & Calautit, John & Eames, Philip & Wu, Yupeng, 2021. "A state-of-the-art review of the application of phase change materials (PCM) in Mobilized-Thermal Energy Storage (M-TES) for recovering low-temperature industrial waste heat (IWH) for distributed heat," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1040-1057.
    13. Ali Mohammadi & G. Venkatesh & Maria Sandberg & Samieh Eskandari & Stephen Joseph & Karin Granström, 2020. "A Comprehensive Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of the Use of Hydrochar Pellets in Combined Heat and Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-15, October.
    14. Coady, Joe & Duquette, Jean, 2021. "Quantifying the impacts of biomass driven combined heat and power grids in northern rural and remote communities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    15. Sadi, M. & Arabkoohsar, A., 2019. "Exergoeconomic analysis of a combined solar-waste driven power plant," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 883-893.
    16. Lynes, Melissa & Featherstone, Allen, 2015. "Economic Efficiency of Utility Plants Under Renewable Energy Policy," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205674, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Cansino, José M. & Pablo-Romero, María del P. & Román, Rocío & Yñiguez, Rocío, 2011. "Promoting renewable energy sources for heating and cooling in EU-27 countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3803-3812, June.
    18. Hao, Xiaoli & Yang, Hongxing & Zhang, Guoqiang, 2008. "Trigeneration: A new way for landfill gas utilization and its feasibility in Hong Kong," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3662-3673, October.
    19. Cambero, Claudia & Sowlati, Taraneh, 2014. "Assessment and optimization of forest biomass supply chains from economic, social and environmental perspectives – A review of literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 62-73.
    20. Vaninsky, Alexander, 2010. "Prospective national and regional environmental performance: Boundary estimations using a combined data envelopment – stochastic frontier analysis approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 3657-3665.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:37:y:2009:i:11:p:4711-4719. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.