District Heating & Cooling systems are a practical way of using otherwise-wasted resources. Heat from civic installations, such as waste-to-energy plants and biomass boliers, is distributed district-wide for use in homes, commercial and public buildings, and industry. Cooling from such sources as chilled water storage is distributed for use in commercial buildings.
For urban areas in cold climates, city-wide district heating systems are key to the cost-effective use of low-carbon heat sources. Similarly, low-carbon sources can be used to meet cooling requirements through a district cooling system.
Ramboll has over 40 years' experience in Denmark with district heating systems of all types and more than 25 years' experience in other countries. We are leaders in this field in the planning, implementation and operation of District Heating & Cooling installations, including technical, institutional, legal and economic aspects of the work. Our engineers work closely with our colleagues in waste-to-energy, CHP and renewable energy to provide optimal-use heating and cooling sources.
District heating : water
Low-temperature district heating systems are used in urban areas. They use low-carbon heat sources such as Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plants with heat accumulators, waste-to-energy plants, geothermal plants, biomass boilers, large-scale heat pumps and large-scale solar heating plants. Even for small urban areas, district heating with thermal storage can be the key component of a cost-effective, carbon-neutral heating system for existing and new buildings.
District heating : super-heated water and steam
Special district heating systems that use super-heated water or steam are used for industrial processes in the main but are also used by some cities and hospitals. Our experience in this area includes the design of pipe systems with a proven lifetime of more than 50 years. We are also experienced in the transformation of such systems into more efficient, low-temperature ones.
District cooling
Decentralised electric chillers in district cooling systems can often be replaced by less expensive systems that use cold seawater, groundwater or carbon-free thermal energy. Our experience in district cooling includes chilled water storage, district heating absorption heat pumps and centralized cooling plants.
Heating installations in buildings
The efficiency of a city-wide heating system depends on its integration with low-temperature heating systems in buildings. We provide our clients with expertise in the design and operation of all facilities in the system, including building installations.