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A Critical Review of District Heating and District Cooling Socioeconomic and Environmental Benefits

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Technological Innovation for Connected Cyber Physical Spaces (DoCEIS 2023)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 678))

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Abstract

Heating energy demand accounts for almost 50% of global final energy consumption. The cooling demand is also rising, accounting for 16% of the building sector's final electricity consumption. District heating and cooling (DH-DC) can significantly reduce overall energy consumption and CO2 emissions considering the use of green sources and new technologies. Identifying and assessing the benefits generated by DH-DC is crucial for supporting policymakers and driving sustainable financing. This paper aims to identify and categorise DH-DC benefits through a literature review focusing on methods to assess them. In this review, 35 research works have been considered and analysed. Benefits identified in the literature broke down into four categories: benefits for the energy system, end-users, environment, and society. Benefits are well recognised in the literature; however, most studies focused on qualitative analysis with a low impact on DH-DC project assessment. Results will be used to design a new integrated assessment framework.

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Acknowledgments

This project has received funding from SmartGYsum project which is the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 955614.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research on Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy and Networks (GREEN), Bocconi University, Via Guglielmo Roentgen, 1, 20136, Milan, Italy

    S. M. Masum Ahmed, Edoardo Croci & Annamaria Bagaini

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  1. S. M. Masum Ahmed
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  2. Edoardo Croci
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  3. Annamaria Bagaini
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Correspondence to S. M. Masum Ahmed .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Monte Caparica, Portugal

    Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

  2. School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Monte Caparica, Portugal

    Filipa Ferrada

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Ahmed, S.M.M., Croci, E., Bagaini, A. (2023). A Critical Review of District Heating and District Cooling Socioeconomic and Environmental Benefits. In: Camarinha-Matos, L.M., Ferrada, F. (eds) Technological Innovation for Connected Cyber Physical Spaces. DoCEIS 2023. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 678. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36007-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36007-7_1

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