The course intends to cover basic concepts and system design that is used in district heating and cooling systems. The main advantage of a centralised system lies in the possibility to connect the system to different loads and sources. These aspects will be introduced, evaluated and discussed. System design and control strategies for both needs and sources of the system will to be discussed. Different generations of the district heating and cooling networks and their importance for supply and needs will be covered. Limitations and obstacles for existing systems, as well as existing business models will also be discussed. Different countries' specific conditions, as well as future scenarios and their consequences at design of district heating and cooling systems will also to discussed.

After passing the course, the student should be able to:

1. Describe, on a basic level, systems and components for district heating and cooling systems. Explain the difference between older and newer generations of district heating systems.
2. Design and assess needs and performance for district heating and cooling systems
3. Describe limitations and impediments and their consequences for these systems, and give an account of the possibilities and challenges that the district heating and the district cooling face in the future.

This course offers a combination of lectures from academia as well as industrial stakeholders, concerning fundamentals, design aspects and optimization strategies, as well as business perspectives and an outlook for future.

As supplements to this knowledge, numerical design and optimization of a real-life district heating and cooling systems will be done using a given software tool (Netsim from Vitec AB).

All course content, information, instructions for assignments etc. will be published on the internal course web (i.e. in Canvas.) All registered students (and teachers) can login with the kth.se account. We use Canvas to distribute all course material and for sharing information.

Course Literature:

The course text book is:

Svend Frederiksen  (Links to an external site.) and Sven Werner (Links to an external site.), 2013. "District Heating and Cooling". (Book). 1st Edition. ISBN:9789144085302. 

Some recommended further reading are:

• Lund et al., 2021. "Perspectives on fourth and fifth generation district heating".https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120520 (Links to an external site.) 
• Heat Roadmap Europe.https://heatroadmap.eu (Links to an external site.)
• IEA DHCAnnex TS2: Implementation of Low Temperature District Heating Systems. https://www.iea-dhc.org/the-research/annexes/2017-2021-annex-ts2 (Links to an external site.)
• Helsinki Energy Challenge 2021. https://energychallenge.hel.fi/ (Links to an external site.)
• The path to emissions-free district heating in Denmark. https://foresightdk.com/the-path-to-emissions-free-district-heating-in-denmark/

No special equipment required

Netsim from Vitec AB (will be provided in KTH computers in the designated lab rooms)

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• PROA - Project work, 2.5 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• SEMA - Seminar, 0.5 credits, Grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Project work ( PROA )

Seminar ( SEMA )

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.