Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis

Decarbonisation of District Heating (DH) networks is essential to achieving the European Union’s climate goals. In this context, there is growing interest among DH stakeholders in the recovery and reuse of underutilised heat sources. Waste heat recovery from district cooling (DC) networks offers a c...

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Main Authors: Kirs Tanel, Sukumaran Sreenath, Latõšov Eduard, Volkova Anna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2024-01-01
Series:Environmental and Climate Technologies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2024-0032
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author Kirs Tanel
Sukumaran Sreenath
Latõšov Eduard
Volkova Anna
author_facet Kirs Tanel
Sukumaran Sreenath
Latõšov Eduard
Volkova Anna
author_sort Kirs Tanel
collection DOAJ
description Decarbonisation of District Heating (DH) networks is essential to achieving the European Union’s climate goals. In this context, there is growing interest among DH stakeholders in the recovery and reuse of underutilised heat sources. Waste heat recovery from district cooling (DC) networks offers a compelling option that can be used as input for various heat pump integrated DH solutions. In this regard, absorption heat pumps (AHP) showcase a promising solution to elevate a lower-temperature waste heat source with reduced electricity consumption. However, AHPs are not widely applied in DH context, primarily due to the lack of suitable waste heat sources or the necessary conditions for their effective operation. This article aims to explore various configurations of AHP and their potential integration with DC plant waste heat for DH application. The potential for adopting AHPs to boost efficiency and lower carbon emissions is evaluated through a techno-economic examination of three distinct technological configurations. For Tallinn case study, it was observed that AHPs can be more efficient, reduce energy consumption, and achieve a lower LCOH while being combined with HP condenser cooling. This study is expected to provide a theoretical support for the positive impact of using AHPs to reduce the usage of fossil fuels in the Tallinn DH network.
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series Environmental and Climate Technologies
spelling doaj-art-5a1bc44dca9e4370936adcfd5a229cdd2024-11-20T15:36:32ZengSciendoEnvironmental and Climate Technologies2255-88372024-01-0128140942110.2478/rtuect-2024-0032Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic AnalysisKirs Tanel0Sukumaran Sreenath1Latõšov Eduard2Volkova Anna3Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Energy Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, EstoniaTallinn University of Technology, Department of Energy Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, EstoniaTallinn University of Technology, Department of Energy Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, EstoniaTallinn University of Technology, Department of Energy Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, EstoniaDecarbonisation of District Heating (DH) networks is essential to achieving the European Union’s climate goals. In this context, there is growing interest among DH stakeholders in the recovery and reuse of underutilised heat sources. Waste heat recovery from district cooling (DC) networks offers a compelling option that can be used as input for various heat pump integrated DH solutions. In this regard, absorption heat pumps (AHP) showcase a promising solution to elevate a lower-temperature waste heat source with reduced electricity consumption. However, AHPs are not widely applied in DH context, primarily due to the lack of suitable waste heat sources or the necessary conditions for their effective operation. This article aims to explore various configurations of AHP and their potential integration with DC plant waste heat for DH application. The potential for adopting AHPs to boost efficiency and lower carbon emissions is evaluated through a techno-economic examination of three distinct technological configurations. For Tallinn case study, it was observed that AHPs can be more efficient, reduce energy consumption, and achieve a lower LCOH while being combined with HP condenser cooling. This study is expected to provide a theoretical support for the positive impact of using AHPs to reduce the usage of fossil fuels in the Tallinn DH network.https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2024-00324gdhabsorption heat pumpcoupling of district heating and coolingdistrict energysustainable heatingwaste heat
spellingShingle Kirs Tanel
Sukumaran Sreenath
Latõšov Eduard
Volkova Anna
Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis
Environmental and Climate Technologies
4gdh
absorption heat pump
coupling of district heating and cooling
district energy
sustainable heating
waste heat
title Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis
title_full Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis
title_fullStr Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis
title_short Use of Absorption Heat Pumps to Raise District Cooling Waste Heat Temperature for District Heating Supply in Tallinn: Technical and Economic Analysis
title_sort use of absorption heat pumps to raise district cooling waste heat temperature for district heating supply in tallinn technical and economic analysis
topic 4gdh
absorption heat pump
coupling of district heating and cooling
district energy
sustainable heating
waste heat
url https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2024-0032
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AT sukumaransreenath useofabsorptionheatpumpstoraisedistrictcoolingwasteheattemperaturefordistrictheatingsupplyintallinntechnicalandeconomicanalysis
AT latosoveduard useofabsorptionheatpumpstoraisedistrictcoolingwasteheattemperaturefordistrictheatingsupplyintallinntechnicalandeconomicanalysis
AT volkovaanna useofabsorptionheatpumpstoraisedistrictcoolingwasteheattemperaturefordistrictheatingsupplyintallinntechnicalandeconomicanalysis