Technical Feasibility Assessment for a Novel Fifth-Generation District Heating Model of Interconnected Operation with a Large-Scale Building

Abstract

In this study, a novel fifth-generation district heating (DH) model was proposed that implements the energy-prosumer concept of bilateral heat trading (BHT) process between the DH network and the building. The newly proposed BHT model can be characterized by the feature of using the low temperature of DH return pipe’s water. The technical feasibility of the proposed BHT model was evaluated through operation simulation analysis based on the actual operation data of the hybrid pilot system combined with the fuel cell and heat pump and the annual hourly temperature profile of the existing DH return pipe. The main objective of this study is to examine the technical feasibility of the interconnection operation model with the existing DHN as an alternative to overcome the limitations of the current fuel cell cogeneration model, which suffers from the low production volume caused by the high initial investment cost. From the simulation results, it was confirmed that considerable operational benefit, more than 30% in terms of primary energy savings, can be achieved with the proposed model, and compared to the stand-alone model of the fuel cell cogeneration system for the building, it can provide a more flexible technical environment to improve the system utilization rate by about 40%.