One technology that can play a key role in moving Ireland towards low-carbon heating and reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels is district heating (DH). A 2019 study by the Heat Roadmaps research partnership estimated that almost 60% of Ireland’s heat demand could be met by DH systems.

District heating involves a network of super-insulated pipes that deliver heat from a centralised energy source and provide space heating and hot water to multiple buildings connected to the network. DH is, in itself, often referred to as being technology agnostic.

It has the inherent flexibility to utilise multiple, diverse, locally available and low-carbon heat sources. Typically, in electrical power plants, between 50% and 70% of the energy output is heat.

Heat local homes and businesses through DH network

In Ireland, this heat is currently dumped into rivers or vented into the atmosphere, but it could easily be utilised to heat local homes and businesses through a DH network.

Lower temperature heat sources, such as the heat from river water, geothermal heat and heat expelled from data centres or other cooling systems, can also be used to feed district heating networks.

These more advanced, lower temperature networks are commonly referred to as fourth generation district heating networks (4DHC) and often utilise heat pumps to raise the temperature to a usable level.

Codema is the lead partner in an EU Interreg project called HeatNet NWE, which promotes the development of 4DHC across six countries in northwest Europe (NWE).

District heating can provide numerous environmental, economic and social benefits. It can contribute significantly to EU and national energy targets, through a reduction in carbon emissions and a greater uptake in renewable energy. It can also improve building energy ratings and lower energy and maintenance bills.

It creates local jobs, provides greater security of supply and a better level of indoor comfort, while helping reduce fuel poverty for tenants. Further benefits can be found in the HeatNet NWE Guide for Public Sector Organisations brochure.

Electric heat pumps

Heat networks that utilise electric heat pumps can be used to balance the electrical grid. These act as large thermal batteries, which reduce the curtailment of intermittent renewables, such as wind, during low demand periods (e.g. night-time).

This is done at a fraction of the cost of electrical battery storage. The flexibility to use multiple sources also improves reliability and continuity of service, as the system is not dependent on any one source.

The network allows for easy integration of future heating technologies at a much faster rate than would be possible with individual building-level installations, while minimising disruption to customers.

District heating has a proven track record as a cost-effective technology in other countries such as Denmark and Sweden. In cities like Copenhagen, 98% of buildings are connected to DH networks.

Here in Ireland, DH represents less than 1% of the total heat market. Establishing DH in a new market such as Ireland has its own challenges; one of the main barriers is the lack of knowledge and awareness of DH.

This is the case across all sectors; from DH’s absence from national energy models in academia, to lack of experience in DH for semi-state utility companies, to the awareness for customers.

Local authorities' low level of autonomy

There are currently very few local authority-led utilities in Ireland, and local authorities have a low level of autonomy compared with those in other European countries. This leads to difficulties in developing policy and regulations for a local issue like heating.

Some unintended barriers have arisen from policy being developed without DH in mind. There are currently no incentives or grants for customers to connect to district heating systems, unlike those given for heat pumps and other technologies.

At the moment, we do not have a national-level heat plan similar to what exists for electricity and transport. However, Codema is working with national-level stakeholders to overcome some of these issues.

A DH policy framework is now being developed as part of the 2019 All of Government Climate Action Plan, and the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly is empowering councils to carry out feasibility assessments for DH.

Heating is a challenge that cannot be solved only by a top-down approach. Public sector organisations can play a leading role in the development of DH by supporting, implementing and connecting to district heating networks in their region.

As one of the leading local authorities in this area, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) has implemented planning policies which promote the use of waste industrial heat, local energy partnerships and prioritise the development of low-carbon district heating in the county.

A Transition Roadmap has also been developed to provide a step-by-step guide to further develop the county’s DH potential into the future. SDCC is also responsible for developing the first not-for-profit, publicly led utility in the country – the South Dublin District Heating company.

This innovative scheme, supported under the HeatNet NWE project, utilises waste heat from a local data centre to provide low-carbon, low-cost hot water and space heating to buildings in the Tallaght area.

So how can local authorities get started on their journey towards adopting low-carbon DH networks? A good place to start is the South Dublin Transition Roadmap, which draws on the experience gained by SDCC and Codema in bringing the Tallaght District Heating Scheme project from initial concept through to final development.

The roadmap suggests actions to be taken in the short, medium and long term to catalyse and promote the development of DH networks in the county.

It discusses the development of heat demand and heat source maps and also provides high-level guidance in areas such as policy options for local authorities, identifying suitable locations for starting a DH scheme, identifying and engaging effectively with stakeholders, techno-economic analysis, and choosing the right business model and procurement method.

This roadmap is further supplemented with guides developed as part of the HeatNet NWE project on areas such as retrofitting existing buildings for 4DHC and procurement.

As part of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment’s Climate Action Fund (CAF), two DH projects were selected for funding in 2019 - the Tallaght District Heating Scheme and the Dublin District Heating Scheme (DDHS).

Recycles waste heat from data centre

The TDHS, as discussed above, recycles waste heat from a data centre through a large-scale heat pump to supply heat to public sector buildings, a college campus and new residential and commercial developments.

This scheme is due to begin construction in the coming weeks, with heat being supplied in early 2021. The Dublin City DH Scheme will utilise waste heat from a waste-to-energy plant in the docklands area of the city, which has up to 90 MW of heat capacity, to feed new and existing developments nearby. This project is currently progressing through its procurement phase.

For those interested in exploring the latest opportunities for developing DH in Ireland, including existing and planned schemes, national policy and finance, and experience from international markets, Ireland’s second national conference on district energy will be held in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin on Thursday 30th April 2020. Please register here.

Author: John O’ Shea is energy systems analyst with Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency. He has worked in the district heating and cooling sector since 2013, and has been involved in many heat planning, feasibility and design projects across Ireland, Europe and the Middle East. He has also acted as a technical and policy adviser and is the lead author of the South Dublin Transition Roadmap.

As part of an innovative research initiative, the ENERGISE consortium launched Energy Living Labs to develop and test options for changing energy use in households in eight countries. Energy Living Labs were implemented among over 300 households (38 in Ireland) from September to December 2018.

The ENERGISE study proves that reductions in energy use are possible when people are given the time and space to question their usual practices, as they try departing from what could be considered the norm and experiment with different approaches.

This method contrasts with approaches centred around individual or technological change, which the ENERGISE team has shown dominate initiatives aimed at changing household energy use, but fail to address the complex interactions and social norms that make up everyday life.

Based on the findings from the ENERGISE Living Labs study, below are our recommendations that can help households’ transition to a low-carbon lifestyle:
1.) Focus on changing practices, not people or technologies. It is evident that more efficient technology is not enough to reduce energy consumption. People need to be engaged and empowered to use them.

Furthermore, people need to become aware of and challenge their energy use practices, and experiment with different approaches.

For example, households should try out new programmes on their washing machines and measure their energy consumption, wash spots rather than the whole clothing item, put on extra layers or use blankets instead of turning up the thermostat, and so on. This can have quite an impact in terms of reducing energy consumption.

2.) Give people the space and means for experimentation. Creating opportunities to reflect, and inviting actors, for example, households, experts, energy companies, and policy makers, to discuss norms, rules, etc. around energy use can be very effective for challenging what tend to be tacitly accepted norms and assumptions around consumption practices.

3.) Place people and everyday practices at the centre of ‘smart technology’ approaches. It must be ensured that people can continue to have an influence on their thermal comfort, rather than counting on smart buildings or invisible heating systems that allow only limited human interventions.

Similarly, washing machines need to be designed in a way to allow for transparency on the energy and water use of programmes as well as for users to navigate easily between them and thus, influence their environmental impact.
But how did the ENERGISE Living Labs work and what were there main quantitative outcomes?

Participating households agreed to engage in two main challenges:
• Halve the number of laundry cycles they do every week, for four weeks; and
• Reduce indoor temperature in their living-rooms to 18C, for four weeks.

These challenges were co-designed to create a disruption in everyday life, involving habits and routines that can be difficult to change.

Specific attention was given to the social norms tied up with laundry and heating: when do we decide to put clothes to wash?

How can we feel comfortable at home without turning up the heat? Rather than starting with the question of technological efficiency or financial considerations, the project focused on social norms, skills, competencies, materials and infrastructures in daily energy use.

Local teams guided households in all eight countries through the same multi-method living lab process, which involved giving support and encouraging learning through using energy and thermometers; laundry and heating diaries; challenge kits, tips, discussions, and so on to support the change of energy use practices.

Through the Living Labs, the ENERGISE team found that reducing indoor temperatures by 1C in the heating season and reducing laundry by one cycle per week is possible, without compromising convenience and comfort.

In some cases, reductions were even more significant, and in many instances, changes were maintained for three months after the challenges when the ENERGISE team conducted a follow-up study.

As shown in the graph, the average number of laundry cycles per week decreased in all countries, and did not return to the original number even after the challenge finished. In fact, in many households it continued to decrease.

The table displays the self-reported average quantitative change as a result of the Living Labs for laundry and heating.

If implemented at the societal level and across all households in Europe, the energy savings could be significant.

For example, one less laundry cycle per week in Swiss households for a year represents a saving of about 13 million m3 of water, 10 million litres of laundry products and the equivalent annual electricity consumption of 90,000 households – if implemented by all Swiss households.

One less laundry cycle per week is also estimated at saving one hour of domestic work per week.

And a 1 °C drop in room temperature, during the winter months when buildings are heating, results in an estimated saving of six per cent of all energy dedicated to heating homes in Switzerland.

Project co-ordinator: Frances Fahy, National University of Ireland Galway, frances.fahy@nuigalway.ie and ENERGISE website.

Currently in her third year, she has mainly looked at countries in the developing world, studying how low-income communities there adapt to changing heat patterns and documenting global heatwaves and populations’ adaptive capacity to heat.

A key focus of her research is how building construction and neighbourhoods’ design affect residents’ vulnerability to hotter temperatures.

She uses drones with infrared cameras to document the surface temperatures of urban buildings, including structures with a variety of designs and building materials, and outdoor conditions in the urban canyons between buildings.

“When you look at technologies like drones, they are not really designed or commonly used to tackle problems like this," she says.

"We’re trying to incorporate this kind of technology to understand what kind of adaptation strategies are suitable for addressing climate change, especially for underserved populations.”

Eyes in the sky

Bayomi is currently developing a computational tool to model heat risk in urban areas that incorporates building performance, available urban resources for adaptation, and population adaptive capacity into its data.

“Most of the tools that are available right now are mostly using statistical data about the population, the income, and the temperature.

"I’m trying to incorporate how the building affects indoor conditions, what resources are available to urban residents, and how they adapt to heat exposure — for instance, if they have a cooling space they could go to, or if there is a problem with the power supplies and they don’t have access to ceiling fans,” she says.

“I’m trying to add these details to the equation to see how they would affect risk in the future.”

She recently began looking at similar changes in communities in the Bronx, New York, in order to see how building construction, population adaptation, and the effects of climate change differ based on region.

Bayomi says that her adviser, Professor John Fernández, motivated her to think about how she could apply different technologies into her field of research.

Bayomi’s interest in drones and urban development isn’t limited to thermal mapping. As a participant in the School of Architecture and Planning’s DesignX entrepreneurship programme, she and her team founded Airworks, a company that uses aerial data collected by the drones to provide developers with automated site plans and building models.

Bayomi worked on thermal imaging for the company, and she hopes to continue this work after she finishes her studies.

Bayomi is also working with Fernández’s Urban Metabolism Group on an aerial thermography project in collaboration with Tarek Rakha PhD ’15, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech.

The project is developing a cyber-physical platform to calibrate building energy models, using drones equipped with infrared sensors that autonomously detect heat transfer anomalies and envelope material conditions.

Bayomi’s group is currently working on a drone that will be able to capture these data and process them in real-time.

Second home

Bayomi says the personal connections that she has developed at MIT, both within her programme and across the institute, have profoundly shaped her graduate experience.

“MIT is a place where I felt home and welcome. Even as an Arabic Muslim woman, I always felt home,” she says. “My relationship with my adviser was one of the main unique things that kept me centered and focused, as I was blessed with an adviser who understands and respects my ideas and gives me freedom to explore new areas.”

She also appreciates the building technology programme’s “unique family vibe”, with its multiple academic and non-academic events including lunch seminars and social events.

When she’s not working on climate technologies, Bayomi enjoys playing and producing music. She has played the guitar for 20 years now and was part of a band during her undergraduate years.

Music serves an important role in Bayomi’s life and is a crucial creative outlet for her. She currently produces rock-influenced trance music, a genre categorised by melodic, electronic sounds.

She released her first single under the moniker Nourey last year and is working on an upcoming track. She likes incorporating guitar into her songs, an element not typically heard in trance tunes.

“I’m trying to do something using guitars with ambient influences in trance music, which is not very common,” she says.

Bayomi has been a member of the MIT Egyptian Students Association since she arrived at MIT in 2015, and now serves as vice-president. The club works to connect Egyptian students at MIT and students in Egypt, to encourage prospective students to apply and provide guidance based on the members’ own experiences.

“We currently have an amazing mix of students in engineering, Sloan [School of Management], Media Lab, and architecture, including graduate and undergraduate members. Also, with this club we try to create a little piece of home here at MIT for those who feel homesick and disconnected due to culture challenges,” she says.

In 2017 she participated in MIT’s Vacation Week for Massachusetts Public Schools at the MIT Museum, and in 2018 she participated in the Climate Changed ideas competition, where her team’s entry was selected as one of the top three finalists.

“I am keen to participate whenever possible in these kind of activities, which enhance my academic experience here,” she says. “MIT is a rich place for such events.”