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A look at the future of district heating and cooling
We’ve supported district heating and cooling for over 50 years, a journey that’s taken us from the first-generation oil-fired systems to today’s intelligent and sustainable systems. Watch the film to find out why we believe intelligent district heating and cooling is the answer for today – and tomorrow.
Supporting district heating from the first generation to today’s fourth generation
At Grundfos, we have been working with district heating and cooling for more than 50 years.
Our journey has taken us from the first-generation oil-fired district heating systems to today’s fourth-generation intelligent district heating systems. along the way, we’ve played a significant role in the development of Scandinavian district heating and cooling, one of the world’s most advanced systems.
And throughout it all, we’ve seen requirements change constantly. And it started with reliability over pump efficiency, system efficiency. And now, how can we help our customers integrate renewable energy sources into their systems?
And we’re far from done with district heating and cooling – let’s take a look at what the future holds for district heating.
The heating and cooling answer for today – and tomorrow
District heating and cooling is the answer for today and for tomorrow because it’s energy-efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective, and it can be implemented at large scale right now.
Ultimately, our ambition is a system that’s always able to deliver on demands and minimise the amount of wasted heat and energy. So we always supply exactly what’s needed.
As a future-looking solution, district heating and cooling will continue to become increasingly digitalised. This means we’ll get access to data and actionable insights that can help continuously optimise grids around the world and allow customers to make better and more informed decisions.
Renovation and expansion of current networks will lead to more sector coupling. The more we can make district heating an integrated, collective part of our energy infrastructure, the stronger the setup will be. We’ll continue to see more secondary heat sources integrated, such as surplus heat from data centres, industry or nuclear power plants.
More sustainable means more flexible and resilient
Much more can be done to develop scalable solutions and business models that can help accelerate the deployment of low-temperature district heating grids and networks.
The more we can integrate renewable energy sources, the more we can reduce CO2 emissions, which means district heating can contribute to getting the world back on track towards a more sustainable future. But that’s not all district heating can help us achieve.
Together with renewable energy sources like solar, thermal, and wind power, large-scale storage solutions like seasonal thermal energy storage will help increase flexibility and resilience by ensuring consistent heat supply all year round.
As governments continue to adopt policies and frameworks that can help incentivise the expansion and modernisation of existing grids and networks, the world will be able to move away from a heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
As we look to the future, collaboration between utilities, energy providers, municipalities and research institutions will be a key part of expanding knowledge about best practices and delivering new innovations that create better and more sustainable district heating systems.
At Grundfos, we want to contribute to advancing district heating – and we are ready to build on more than 50 years of district heating experience.
Read articles and use cases on how district heating can improve grid efficiency, security and flexibility while integrating renewable energy and reducing costs.
Read more about district heating and cooling
We’ve put together a series of articles that expand on our expertise within district heating and cooling. Click below to start learning more.
Explore our intelligent and efficient pump solutions that help optimise district heating system performance today – and tomorrow.
Want more information about district heating?
For more information about how we can help you with district heating, contact one of our specialists today.