District heating and cooling

What is district heating (CAD)?

District heating is a progressive and innovative system. It works like a "giant central heating system" that supplies heat to several buildings or an entire neighbourhood, thus replacing the individual boiler rooms of the buildings connected to it.produced in one or more thermal power plants, the heat is distributed in the form of hot water to the buildings through underground or overhead pipes. Once it reaches its destination, the water passes through a heat exchanger and releases the energy needed to heat the building and produce domestic hot water. After this energy transfer, the partially cooled water returns to the heating plants for a new cycle. Heat can be produced from one or more sources:
natural gas, wood energy, hydrothermal and geothermal heat pumps, household waste incineration, etc. The energy mix depends on each network, but the share of fossil sources is tending to decrease in favour of renewable and recovered energy.

 

What is remote "cold" (FAD)?

A District Cooling System (DCS) is similar to a CAD, with the difference that it provides cooling to the buildings connected to it: a DCS functions as a large cold water supply plant that supplies the connected buildings either "live" when the water source is cold enough, or by using a refrigeration machine when lower temperatures are required. In the case of "low-temperature" networks, heating and cooling services can be provided simultaneously.

 

CAD and ADF networks have many advantages for their users.

Savings

  • Significantly reduced investments: financially competitive turnkey solution
  • No maintenance costs: boiler, chimney sweeping, oil tank to be filled, refrigerating machine, etc.ü Possibility to avoid additional investments when the heat production has to be renovated (e.g. solar thermal or photovoltaic installations)

Greater comfort

  • Compatibility with any individual heating/cooling system
  • Installation, maintenance and troubleshooting by the CAD/FAD operator
  • Space saving in the rooms due to the elimination of the boiler, tank and/or refrigerating machine
  • Constant supply 365 days a year
  • Absence of bad smells and noise pollution

Optimized security

  • No need to store hazardous fuels and refrigerants
  • No emissions harmful to health

Better performance

  • Minimized heat loss due to thermal insulation of underground pipelines
  • High reliability of heat supply
  • Very high efficiency of heat transfer through the installation, close to 100%.

Positive for the environment

  • Flexible heating/cooling systems that produce heat using renewable energy.
  • Reduction ofCO2emissions
  • Conformity of the installation to OPAir (Ordinance for the Protection of the Air) standards through continuous monitoring
  • Participation in the development of the regional economy (producers and suppliers of indigenous fuels)

Last updated: March 29, 2019 at 3:46 pm