Next-Generation District Heating: Enhancing Sustainability through Multi-Level Energy Cascades and Decentralised Renewable Energy Sources

The main goal of this project is to provide a scientific basis for the transition from the current centralised and organised high-temperature DHC networks to an integrated and highly efficient system with much lower system temperatures at different levels (energy cascades). The idea behind this project is that several decentralised low-temperature (4th and 5th generation) district heating and cooling networks, spread all over the city, are connected to the general DHC network as a backbone, as well as to the overarching electric power system, including local PV generation. The key element of this concept is a multi-level heat cascade, where each non-fuel renewable or waste heat source is used according to its temperature level, and the return flow of each network can be used to supply the corresponding lower temperature level, considering the required temperature level of individual buildings and urban structures.