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Experience from a practical test of low-temperature district heating for space heating in five Danish single-family houses from the 1930s

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  • Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup
  • Svendsen, Svend

Abstract

The efficiency of district heating systems is greatly affected by network supply and return temperatures. However, the opportunities to lower the temperatures and thereby increase network efficiency are restricted by customer installations. Very little is known about the customer installations, because heating system operation is only rarely monitored in detail. In this study, we therefore investigated the operation of the heating systems in five houses. The study had two aims: first to investigate how much of the heating season the houses could be heated with supply temperatures as low as 55 °C, and second to investigate whether occupant behaviour and heating system malfunctions caused unnecessarily high return temperatures. The results showed that all the houses were compatible with low-temperature supply, and in two of the houses return temperatures were even as low as the preferred 25–30 °C. Two main causes were found for unnecessarily high return temperatures in the remaining houses: a few radiators were found to be too small, and thermostatic radiator valves did not always ensure proper water mass flow. In conclusion, if these errors were corrected, the study indicates that it would be possible to heat the investigated houses with district heating temperatures of 55/30 °C.

Suggested Citation

  • Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup & Svendsen, Svend, 2018. "Experience from a practical test of low-temperature district heating for space heating in five Danish single-family houses from the 1930s," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 569-578.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:159:y:2018:i:c:p:569-578
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.06.142
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup & Svendsen, Svend, 2016. "Replacing critical radiators to increase the potential to use low-temperature district heating – A case study of 4 Danish single-family houses from the 1930s," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 75-84.
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    7. Toffanin, Riccardo & Curti, Vinicio & Barbato, Maurizio C., 2021. "Impact of Legionella regulation on a 4th generation district heating substation energy use and cost: the case of a Swiss single-family household," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
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    10. Theofanis Benakopoulos & William Vergo & Michele Tunzi & Robbe Salenbien & Svend Svendsen, 2021. "Overview of Solutions for the Low-Temperature Operation of Domestic Hot-Water Systems with a Circulation Loop," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-25, June.
    11. Benakopoulos, Theofanis & Tunzi, Michele & Salenbien, Robbe & Svendsen, Svend, 2021. "Strategy for low-temperature operation of radiator systems using data from existing digital heat cost allocators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    12. Theofanis Benakopoulos & Robbe Salenbien & Dirk Vanhoudt & Svend Svendsen, 2019. "Improved Control of Radiator Heating Systems with Thermostatic Radiator Valves without Pre-Setting Function," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    13. Pothof, I. & Vreeken, D. & Meerkerk, M. van, 2023. "Data-driven method for optimized supply temperatures in residential buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    14. Sarran, Lucile & Smith, Kevin M. & Hviid, Christian A. & Rode, Carsten, 2022. "Grey-box modelling and virtual sensors enabling continuous commissioning of hydronic floor heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    15. Guelpa, E. & Capone, M. & Sciacovelli, A. & Vasset, N. & Baviere, R. & Verda, V., 2023. "Reduction of supply temperature in existing district heating: A review of strategies and implementations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    16. Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup & Tunzi, Michele & Svendsen, Svend, 2021. "What does a well-functioning heating system look like? Investigation of ten Danish buildings that utilize district heating efficiently," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    17. Antoine Reguis & Behrang Vand & John Currie, 2021. "Challenges for the Transition to Low-Temperature Heat in the UK: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-26, November.
    18. Alsagri, Ali Sulaiman & Arabkoohsar, Ahmad & Khosravi, Milad & Alrobaian, Abdulrahman A., 2019. "Efficient and cost-effective district heating system with decentralized heat storage units, and triple-pipes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

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