LT-Set: A Surrogate Model-Based Decision Tool for Low-Temperature District Heating Refurbishment

The Netherlands aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 49% before 2030, with the built environment contributing 15% of these emissions largely due to the heavy reliance on natural gas to meet space heating demands. To phase out natural gas, alternatives such as heat pumps and district heat networks are being considered. However, adapting...

Distribution grid planning considering sector coupling and waste heat recovery

This thesis work investigates and provides an analysis of the potential benefits of an electricity - gas - heat integrated energy system, putting extra focus on the waste heat potential from fuel cells and electrolysers. The main focus is given to the low-voltage distribution grid level, and a case study is presented for the Drechtsteden...

Designing a Future District Heating Network for Rotterdam South

The city of Rotterdam must find a way to transition away from natural gas for heating the built environment before 2050. Among the alternatives for future spatial heating is district heating, as residual heat is abundantly available in the Rotterdam harbour. Currently, a small part of the Rotterdam South area is covered by the district heating...

Operating power-to-heat in thermal grids: Mitigating wind power intermittency through the electrification of a heat network

Externalities of conventional energy sources encourage a transition to a sustainable energy system. Both the intermittency of renewable energy sources and the carbon-intensity of the heat sector challenge this transition. In the context of heat and renewable power integration, this report focuses on balancing uncertain wind power production...

Heat Energy Market: Energy Trading in District Heating Systems

In order to reduce CO2 emission, district heat networks and carbon-neutral heat energy production are being developed in the Netherlands. This resulted in an increasing amount of district heating systems (DHS) in the horticulture areas. A DHS in a region called the ”B3-Hoek” connects multiple producers with horticulture companies in a single...

Distributed Control Design of District Heating Networks

In The Netherlands, the current heat energy system accounts for 44% of the primary energy usage and relies almost entirely on fossil fuels such as natural gas. To meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals, 4th Generation District Heating (4GDH) networks are expected as sustainable heat energy system solution. The concept relies on optimally...

District Heating Ownership: An exploratory case study to the preferences of Utrecht residents on ownership structures for new district heating systems

Since the Netherlands possesses the largest natural gas reserve in Western Europe, most households depend on this resource for their heat provision. Of the total consumption of natural gas, 51% is used for heat provision to households. Both social problems with earthquakes related to natural gas exploitation and environmental problems with...