Heating system
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing energy consumption for heating and cooling in urban areas leads to environmental degradation and high investment costs, with existing systems inefficiently utilizing energy distributed through heating and cooling grids.
Innovation Solution
A heating system that utilizes the waste heat from a district cooling grid by connecting a heat pump to the return conduit of the district cooling grid, allowing the heat pump to elevate the temperature of the heating fluid for building comfort and tap water heating, thereby reducing energy consumption and investment costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heat pump is used for building heating and hot water preparation, then heating comfort is provided, but energy consumption and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the district cooling grid with the local heating system by connecting the heat pump to both systems. The cooling fluid from the district cooling grid serves dual purposes: providing cooling when needed and serving as a heat source for the heat pump when heating is required, merging two previously separate functions into one integrated system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the waste heat in the return conduit of the district cooling grid, which was previously discarded as useless thermal energy, into a valuable heat source for the heat pump. This transforms a harmful waste product into a beneficial resource that reduces the energy consumption of the heating system
2Loss of energy
If a separate district heating grid is installed, then heating can be provided efficiently, but investment costs and infrastructure complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the district cooling grid multi-functional by enabling it to serve both cooling purposes (when the building requires cooling) and heating purposes (when the heat pump extracts heat from the return conduit). This eliminates the need for a separate district heating grid infrastructure while maintaining heating efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the district cooling grid to serve the heating needs of the building through the heat pump, which extracts waste heat from its own return conduit. The cooling grid essentially serves itself by providing both cooling and heating functions without requiring external heating infrastructure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces energy consumption and investment costs by utilizing waste heat from the district cooling grid, providing an environmentally and financially sustainable solution for heating systems, and extending the life of heat pump equipment.
Implementation Method 1
the heat of the cooling fluid that is transferred in the return conduit of the district cooling grid
Implementation Method 2
a heat pump having an inlet connected to the return conduit of the district cooling grid and an outlet connected to the feed conduit of the district cooling grid
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention refers to a heating system (100) comprising a district cooling grid (1) and a local heating system (200) configured to heat a building and/or to heat tap water for the building. The heating system has a feed conduit (5) for an incoming flow of cooling fluid having a first temperature, and a return conduit (8) for a return flow of cooling fluid having a second temperature, the second temperature being higher than the first temperature. The local heating system (200) comprises a heat pump (10) having an inlet (10a) connected to the return conduit (8) of the district cooling grid (1) and an outlet (10b) connected to the feed conduit (5) of the district cooling grid (1).