Benefits and Challenges of District Cooling

Benefits and Challenges of District Cooling

This section gives a brief rundown of the benefits and challenges of district cooling

a.      Benefits

The technical, environmental, and financial performance of centralized production facilities is, by nature, easier to control. Below are some benefits of district cooling systems found during the study.

Financial and economic benefits

•             lower investment in production plant due to economies of scale

•             lower installed capacity due to coincidence factor (local peak demand occurs at different times) and use of thermal energy storage

•             longer life span and lower maintenance cost

•             financial and economic benefits due to energy efficiency

Energy efficiency

•             25%–50% increase in energy efficiency due to economies of scale and part-load efficiency, compared with split-type air-conditioning units and centralized cooling systems for individual buildings

•             up to 10% increase in energy efficiency due to reduction of urban heat island effect induced by split-type air-conditioning units and centralized cooling systems for individual buildings

•             use of different energy sources and technologies, such as waste heat from industrial processes and power generation, and curtailed wind energy, thus improving energy efficiency from a global perspective

Environmental efficiency

•             use of various renewable energy sources

•             less noise pollution

•             less refrigerant use or leakage

Other benefits

•             improved comfort

•             improved indoor climate

•             reliability

•             increased availability of space in individual buildings (as a result of centralized cooling, with attendant economies of scale)

b.      Challenges

Centralized energy infrastructure normally needs a great deal of planning and integration of interface stakeholders. Below are some challenges facing district cooling systems development.

End-user challenges

•             consumer protection measures related to pricing and quality of service

•             general acceptance of added value of improved indoor climate

Financial and economic challenges

•             relatively high cooling demand density required for financial feasibility

•             acceptance and application of connection fees to allow the investment cost to be shared with developers and end users

•             front-loaded investments (partly for the production facility, but mainly for the distribution system)

•             electricity tariff and subsidy differences between electricity for household use and electricity for commercial and industrial use

•             competitive gas tariffs and subsidies

•             high price of land for centralized cooling station

Planning and design challenges

•             integration of infrastructure planning with municipal development planning

•             design criteria for real-estate developers

•             overestimation of cooling load and required cooling

•             cooling load buildup

•             user behavior and occupancy rate

Project implementation challenges

•             simple and straightforward business models

•             realistic planning and design

•             realistic and well-prepared feasibility studies

•             off-taker commitments

•             energy-efficient and feasible district cooling concepts professional implementation along the project value chain, including planning, design, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning, and operation and maintenance.

www.bilkargroup.com

www.bilkarsogutma.com.tr

info@bilkargroup.com

+90 212 343 50 40

+90 553 343 50 40