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In the Pipeline:
District Energy and Green Building
This summary is a shortened, condensed version of the Full Article.
Executive Summary
Thermal energy from one central supply plant can heat or cool entire towns and cities. This article discusses district energy and central combined heat and power (CHP) systems as alternatives to individual building heating and cooling systems.
District energy systems heat water or steam at a central facility, usually with fossil fuels, biomass, or geothermal energy. Hot water is pumped through closed-loop, insulated, underground pipes to individual buildings where it provides energy for hot water and space heating. Because conventional electricity production produces significant amounts of waste heat, capturing that heat through CHP (also called cogeneration) increases the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of district energy systems.
Absorption chillers, electric chillers operating during off-peak electricity demand, or deep-lake heat sinks can provide district cooling alongside district heating. Alternatively, hot water can be used to power centralized or domestic absorption and adsorption chillers for air conditioning. After thermal energy is used, water flows through a return pipe to the central facility, is reheated or re-chilled, and recirculated.
Strong regional planning makes district energy systems viable. Because district energy systems are centrally operated, maintained, and monitored, individual users can save operation and maintenance costs, although initial investment in facility construction and pipeline installation can be expensive. Large-scale fuel purchasing often makes alternative energy sources, such as landfill methane and waste biomass such as wood chips, feasible options. CHP electricity sales can further offset system cost. Increased efficiency of regional energy systems generally reduces total carbon and particulate emissions, and moving combustion off-site further limits individual emission exposure. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system offers credits for use of district energy systems.
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