
Huge heat losses appear in the EU energy balance. From the annual energy supply of 63 EJ , more than 20 EJ heat are lost in power plants, oil refineries, and industrial processes. Parts of these losses can be retrieved and distributed by district heating systems to heat urban buildings. District heating systems provide the necessary heat load for high-efficiency CHP plants and, at the same time, make it also possible to use renewable energy (RES).
District cooling is emerging as a similar energy efficient tool for providing comfortable indoor climate during summers. The overall purpose with this project is to communicate that district heating and cooling, can expand further in an extended EU and offer higher energy efficiency and higher security of supply with the benefit of lower carbon dioxide emissions by: analysing the heating and cooling demands in Europe with a view to provide comprehensive, aggregate information about the whole heating and cooling market and its dynamics in Europe analysing and making visible possibilities for district heating and cooling providing a tool for assessing the primary energy efficiency of district heating systems from conversion to delivery to the final customer assessing and communicating the implications from more district heating and cooling in relation to European policy objectives providing recommendations for strategies to encourage the development of sustainable heat and cold supply options. The project covers 32 European countries: EU 25, the applicant countries Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey and 3 EFTA countries: Iceland Norway and Switzerland. 14 partners are involved, including 3 European/ international associations as well as 9 national CHP/DH associations, a university and a consultancy company.
The project timeframe: 1 January 2005 - 31 December 2006 Project coordinator: Peter Vernon Projects Coordinator Euroheat & Power 300 Avenue de Tervuren B-1150 Brussels tel:+32-(0)2 740 21 10 fax:+32-(0)2 740 21 19 email Peter.vernon@euroheat.org