District heating is widely used for thermal energy supply and offers a broad range of benefits like the possibility to integrate decentral heat supply technologies or to foster the utilisation of renewable energy sources. Thus, district heating has the potential to gradually contribute to a more sustainable thermal energy supply and to consequently facilitate the energy turn. However, due to specific requirements of this technology, strategic planning is required for the successful implementation of district heating networks. Previous research mainly focuses on either economic, environmental, or technological aspects of district heating. This study therefore aims to execute a comprehensive assessment of district heating systems in the following four sections: (1) integrated spatial and energy planning, (2) costs, (3) resources and (4) environment and climate. To this end, the recently developed Eco.District.Heat kit (EDHk) is used to evaluate and rate eight case studies consisting of 14 different urban typologies, while considering the aforementioned sections of interest. The paper applies the EDHk to assess different spatial structures and grid configurations as well as a broad mix of different thermal energy sources. With regard to integrated spatial and energy planning (section 1), the assessment shows heterogenous ratings whereas the case studies exhibit quite constant positive ratings with regard to costs (2), environment and climate (4). Although a lot of material is used for the construction of networks (i.e. resources, section 3), the question whether or not to dismantle old grids for resource utilisation cannot be answered definitely. According to our results, future development scenarios in the context of climate change and building renovation until 2050 have little influence on the final ratings. Based on the comprehensive assessment of eight case studies, it can be concluded that district heating systems offer a long-term and sustainable solution of heat supply for different spatial archetypes and types of urban fabrics. Furthermore, the proposed methodology allows users to critically examine planned projects and to detect shortcomings at an early planning stage. The EDHk thus provides a suitable methodology to support strategic decisions in integrated spatial and energy planning.

中文翻译：

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城市区域供热的未来兼容性—在空间和能源综合规划的背景下进行案例分析

区域供热被广泛用于热能供应，并具有广泛的优势，例如可以集成分散供热技术或促进可再生能源的利用。因此，区域供热有可能逐渐促进更可持续的热能供应，从而促进能源转向。但是，由于这项技术的特定要求，为了成功实施区域供热网络，需要进行战略规划。先前的研究主要集中在区域供热的经济，环境或技术方面。因此，本研究旨在在以下四个部分中对区域供热系统进行全面评估：（1）空间和能源综合规划，（2）成本，（3）资源和（4）环境与气候。为此，最近开发的Eco.District.Heat套件（EDHk）用于评估和评估由14种不同城市类型组成的8个案例研究，同时考虑了上述感兴趣的部分。本文将EDHk应用于评估不同的空间结构和网格配置以及不同热能源的广泛混合。关于空间和能源综合规划（第1节），评估显示出不同的评级，而案例研究在成本（2），环境和气候（4）方面表现出相当稳定的肯定评级。尽管用于网络建设的材料很多（例如，资源，第3节），但是否能够拆除旧网格以进行资源利用的问题仍然无法得到肯定的回答。根据我们的结果，在2050年之前的气候变化和建筑物翻新的背景下的未来发展方案对最终评级几乎没有影响。根据对八个案例研究的综合评估，可以得出结论，区域供热系统为不同的空间原型和城市结构类型提供了长期且可持续的供热解决方案。此外，所提出的方法允许用户批判性地检查计划中的项目并在早期计划阶段发现缺点。因此，EDHk提供了一种合适的方法来支持综合空间和能源规划中的战略决策。根据对八个案例研究的综合评估，可以得出结论，区域供热系统为不同的空间原型和城市结构类型提供了长期且可持续的供热解决方案。此外，所提出的方法允许用户批判性地检查计划中的项目并在早期计划阶段发现缺点。因此，EDHk提供了一种合适的方法来支持综合空间和能源规划中的战略决策。根据对八个案例研究的综合评估，可以得出结论，区域供热系统为不同的空间原型和城市结构类型提供了长期且可持续的供热解决方案。此外，所提出的方法允许用户批判性地检查计划中的项目并在早期计划阶段发现缺点。因此，EDHk提供了一种合适的方法来支持综合空间和能源计划中的战略决策。