18. May 2010 - Premiere of EnEff:Wärme at the Berliner Energietage conference

Abstract

On the 10th of May, for the first time ever, the research initiative EnEff:Wärme was comprehensively presented as part of the conference Berliner Energietage 2010. Under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), over 100 participants witnessed discussions of concepts and new perspectives for energy-efficient use of district heating and local heating.

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Dr. Knut Kübler from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology first explained the context and objectives of this new research initiative. Subsequently, expert speakers from the energy industry, the scientific community and associations presented new development trends in the field of network-bound heating coverage.

The presentation by Dr. Maren Hille (German Association of the Energy and Water Industries, BDEW) revealed how significant district heating is for the national climate protection strategy. After all, there were almost 5 million households connected to district heating supplies in 2008. In general, district heating in combination with cogeneration offers potential CO₂ savings of up to 48% compared with separate generation of electricity and heat. In its Integrated Energy and Climate Policy, the German Federal Government calls for the proportion of electricity from CHP to be doubled by 2020, bringing it to around 25%. However, the expansion of CHP and renewable energy sources requires a large-scale shift from individual heating systems to network-bound heating coverage.

Dr. Stephan Richter (GEF Ingenieur AG) gave an account of one of the first EnEff:Wärme pilot projects: "Model district heating city Ulm". The core of this project is the optimisation of Ulm's district heating coverage. Here, together with Fernwärme Ulm GmbH, efforts are being made to reduce the supply temperature of the local university line and to reduce network temperatures, especially the return temperature upon supply of heat to new buildings and refurbished old buildings. The goal is a LowEx district heating network with return temperatures between 25 °C and 65 °C. In future, Ulm's new residential neighbourhood "Lettenwald" (construction to begin in 2011, approximately 1,000 accommodation units) is to be supplied with heat by means of such a network.

The presentation by Prof. Dr. Clemens Felsmann (TU Dresden) considered the district heating network as a component of intelligent energy management. Research is currently being conducted on multifunctional district heating systems, the influence of decreasing supply temperatures on building services technology and improvement of the chances of utilisation of district heating systems. The integration of decentralised heat sources in order to replace fossil fuels and to increase the proportion of renewable energy plays a key role in this context. With "smart grids" in district heating coverage, efforts are being made to interconnect heat generators, power generators, energy storage systems, heat consumers, power consumers and other operational installations in energy transfer and distribution grids. These should improve data exchange, communication and control, as well as the monitoring and optimisation of individual components.

The presentation by Martin Pokojski (Vattenfall Europe) made it clear that building cooling based on district heating in conjunction with cogeneration effectively eliminates the use of the premium energy form electricity for cooling. A joint research project with TU Berlin and industrial partners aims to develop new absorption cooling systems for building cooling without the use of air drying. Innovative heat exchangers such as cooling ceilings and new radiator systems with additional fans for temperature maintenance are to be used for cooling distribution. As of summer 2009, the systems are being tested in two office buildings in Hamburg and Berlin. A nationwide trial operation is planned for 2010, with market introduction scheduled for 2011.

At the end of the event, Dr. Stefan Holler (MVV Energie) spoke about cost-effective district heat transfer for the expansion of cogeneration. A project conducted by MVV is addressing the provision of heat from particularly efficient and cost-effective large-scale CHP plants, the intelligent utilisation of district heat transfer pipelines and, last but not least, the reduction of construction costs in the laying of plastic jacket pipe systems. District heating's share of fraction should thus be increased, primarily in terms of area, i.e. in regions which are less densely populated. In the field of district heat transfer, technical solutions are being tested on the pipeline between the large Mannheim power plant and the Speyer heating plant. Construction tests and demonstration installations are currently being realised in Speyer's old town centre, with its historic, very dense buildings; test installations are also being implemented in the outlying area. The project results are to be published in a collection of documents entitled "Bautechniken Fernwärmeverteilung" (Construction Techniques for District Heat Distribution) and in a checklist for planning engineers.