We all feel it: energy is an increasingly important issue in our lives. Due to its impact on the climate and recent geopolitical events, fossil fuels are no longer sustainable in the future. The energy crisis we are headed for is a part of the news almost daily. In this article, we discuss one of the options for dealing with it sustainably.
Anyone who has already looked up some information about sustainable ways to heat knows that heat pumps and heat networks play an important role in this. A fifth-generation heat grid, also called a "source grid," goes a step further and combines the advantages of these two techniques.
A source network, like a conventional heat grid, distributes heat from storage and/or heat source(s) to nearby buildings. While a classic heat grid distributes heat at a high temperature, a source grid will distribute heat at very low temperatures (5 to 25°C). With the conventional heat grid, the distributed heat is high enough that it is immediately usable for heating the building and producing domestic hot water. In contrast, when using a source network, each building will have to use a water-water heat pump to further heat the heat to the desired temperature.
A source network can offer many advantages over a conventional heat grid. We list them for you here:
Since a source network also allows for cooling, heat can be sold on the grid. This gives the opportunity for new forms of participation. Thus, a building can not only be a consumer in which it consumes heat, but equally a "prosumer" in which it also produces heat.
Whether a source network, or fifth-generation heat grid, is a good solution depends greatly on the environment. For example, a source network will be most beneficial when well-insulated buildings, with different functions, are located together. Cold demand is an added bonus.
This concept is already being implemented in several places in Flanders.
One example is the Janseniushof in Leuven, where Ingenium defined the concept.
The construction of a source network can, depending on the exact situation, be very different from the construction of a classic heat network. In the past, Ingenium already worked out solutions to enable prosumer participation, down to the detailed design level. We continue to conduct research into optimal forms today, including through collaboration with various research institutions.
Would you like more info on source nets? Then contact our expert Joris Dedecker at 050 40 45 30 or joris.dedecker@ingenium.be.
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