Low-Temperature District Heating

Today’s district heating systems (3rd generation) are made mainly for fossil fuels that easily generate high temperatures. To create tomorrow’s district heating systems (4th generation), adapted to a sustainable energy system, we need to use non-fossil heat supply such as renewable and excess heat that are generally characterised by lower temperatures. The future district heating systems also need to adapt to a decrease in energy demand from increasingly energy-efficient buildings, resulting in lower operational margins for existing networks.

TEMPO’s aim was to contribute to steering district heating networks towards a more sustainable and economically viable future. In the TEMPO project, the temperature levels of the networks were lowered, so that heat losses can be reduced and thereby enable the use of a higher share of sustainable sources to meet heat demand. To achieve this goal, the project deployed the demonstration of cost-effective technological innovations that contribute to minimising the temperature level in district heating networks and enable the cost-efficient implementation of low-temperature networks. Additionally, we pursued innovative approaches toward consumer empowerment and new business models for these networks to ensure a successful outcome for TEMPO.

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