Toolbox

The right tools to move your project forward!

You want to decarbonize your DHC system, but you do not know exactly how? Or you already have some concrete ideas? Then you are sure to find a suitable tool here that will help you!

Many research projects and other institutions have already developed some useful tools and guidelines on the topic of decarbonizing DHC, which are available online and free of charge. The RES-DHC project elaborated this online toolbox out of them.

Guidelines for the Simplified Evaluation of the Potential for Renewable Heat

The guidelines provide an overview of the necessary information that is important for a development of DH projects and their financing. By presenting the most important questions for each key topic, the tool lays the foundation for a potential analysis.

Heat Roadmap Europe

Within the interactive map a large variety of information about district heating in different European countries is provided. While general information about guidelines on European level can be found, also specific details on each country can be downloaded.

Virtual Study Tours

An online collection of videos is offered about district heating and cooling networks run on renewable energies. It includes 10 different examples of DH systems in Europe with different energy sources like biomass, solar thermal energy or waste heat. The videos are available in different langugages.

Simple Heat Pump Calculation

This Excel calculation tool offers the economics calculation of electrical heat pumps in district heating networks. Its purpose is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a heat pump in an already existing grid with a solar thermal plant.

Hotmaps

The map allows the user to get a first overwiev of the heat demand in European regions. Additional information about the district heating potentials can be gained by using the different calculation tools.

Quality Management System Documents and Tools

Several documents provide quality management system tools for DH systems. This tool box support a more efficient realisation and operation of DH systems with a large variety of renewable energy sources.

Database for solar district heating plants

The tool is a database with 195 individual solar thermal plants in various countries. Information as the owner, the geographical location and technical specifics are listed.

Performance Assessment of District Energy Systems

The tool consists of a paper which proposes a methodology for calculating different DHC key performance indicators (KPIs), distinguishing between heating and cooling ones. As a result, performance analysis of combined DHC systems gets easier.

THERMOS Software

The tool allows to model DHC systems and their optimal design by gernerating het and cold maps. It inclues a broad range of functions like the modelling of pipe and digging costs as well as a network supply model.

Guidelines for Solar District Heating Systems

These guidelines describe the implementation of medium to large scale solar thermal plants in existing district heating systems in cities. Key problems and steps, which follow the decision making progress are included.

GIS applications for municipalities, specialist planners

The Heat Network Analyst is an add-in module to the ArcGIS program extension. The module optimizes the rough dimensioning of the pipe strings in the planned network and enables the mapping of different heat network scenarios for greater flexibility in network calculation and simulation.

ScenoCalc District Heating (SCFW)

This Excel-based calculation tool can be used to calculate the useful solar heat yield of solar thermal systems integrated into heating networks. A preset parameter selection can be used, but also own data can be implemented.

Guidelines for a spatial multicriteria analyses

These guideline show a methodology for applying a multicriteria analysis approach for the development of biomass and solar thermal plants connected to small and medium district heating network.

Guide for strategy development of renewable energies in district heating

The tool allows to model DHC systems and their optimal design by gernerating het and cold maps. It inclues a broad range of functions like the modelling of pipe and digging costs as well as a network supply model.

EnerMaps Open Data Management Tool

The EnerMaps Open Data Management Tool, developed within the Horizon 2020 project EnerMaps, aims at improving data management and accessibility in the field of energy research for the renewable energy industry.

Heat planning toolbox

The toolbox offers tools and advices for a full heat planning process, from the initial steps to the mapping, going then to the analysis and comparison of the scenario, to finally close with the planning and implementation of the most relevant measures.

Solar district heating guidelines

The tool is a collection of various factsheets, divided by topic, tackling the different aspects and steps of developing a solar thermal plant connected to a district heating network.