17/07/2024
What is District Energy? 🔁
District energy systems are used widely across Europe, providing cities and towns with affordable, low-carbon heating and cooling. It is the heating networks that will be most important to Ireland in the transition to renewable energy!
District heating networks supply heat and are fuel and technology agnostic, i.e., any source that can heat water can be used to supply the network. This means district heating supports all potential suppliers of heat, from geothermal, biomass and industrial waste heat to solar thermal and Combined Heat and Power (CHP).
The countries with the highest shares of renewable heat in Europe—Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Denmark—are the top six users of district energy (DE), each boasting a renewable heat share above 40%. In stark contrast, Ireland's share is at 6.3%.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) conducted a National Heat Study to explore Ireland’s options for decarbonizing the energy used for heating and cooling buildings. The study revealed that DH could potentially meet up to 54% of the heat demand for buildings, helping Ireland to meet its ambitious carbon reduction goals.
