In Denmark, three PhD students at Aarhus University talk about their research in a bid to help the country meet its climate-neutral target by 2050.
In fact, for practical purposes, people of Denmark love district heating. Been present for more than 100 years, district heating network in Denmark marks a network of length of 60,000 kilometers, and currently, 64 percent Danish households are supplied with district heating.
Presently, district heating production primarily uses fossil fuels. Approximately, only 52% of heat is sourced from renewable energy sources such as the wind, sun, and geothermal. And, heating accounts for 40 percent of the overall energy consumption.
Therefore, to accomplish the government’s plan for climate neutrality by 2050, a heating sector solely sourced by green source for district heating will play a central role in phasing out fossil fuels.
PhD Projects key to investigate climate-neutral plans in Denmark
Meanwhile, three PhD projects from Aarhus University could be a key element in a bid to attain the government’s climate plan, and for the work of sourcing renewable energy for district heating plants.
“How batteries are used to store surplus energy in the electricity grid, the aim is to use thermal mass in buildings to store heat. This heat that can be controlled using an intelligent heating management system,” stated a PhD student who is working on user behavior.
Interestingly, heat can be stored in furniture, building mass and even in the indoor air. In particular, heavy materials such as bricks and concrete have high heating capacity. In such a setting, a house could function as a thermal battery that can store heat generated from the district heating network. For example, in periods, when energy consumption surpasses the production of green energy, it is necessary to provide energy to black boilers. If green energy is stored for times when energy use is high, this will allow to avoid use of fossil-based energy.