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Su, C. & Urban, F. (2021). Carbon Neutral China by 2060: The Role of Clean Heating Systems. Energies, 14(22), Article ID 7461.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Carbon Neutral China by 2060: The Role of Clean Heating Systems
2021 (English)In: Energies, E-ISSN 1996-1073, Vol. 14, no 22, article id 7461Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Smog pollution is a severe social and environmental concern for the space-heating regions in China due to fossil-intensive space heating. To reduce polluting emissions and improve social and environmental performance, local government agencies should choose adequate cleaner space-heating technologies based on diverse local conditions. This implies that all cleaner heating solutions should be considered, including low-emissions fossil fuel district heating and low-emissions fossil fuel decentralized heating as transitional technologies, as well as biomass and electricity-driven heat pumps as long-term solutions. However, stakeholders such as policy makers, equipment manufacturers, and house owners, often lack necessary information to assess the feasibility for installing adequate heating solutions at the local level. It is therefore necessary to establish a systematic method to evaluate each heating solution in various geolocations of China. This paper reviews the current heating situation in China and proposes a spatial system analysis method as a tool for heating-solution feasibility evaluation. By applying the spatial system analysis method, a qualitative investigation on the choice of heating solution in different regions of China is provided. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI AG, 2021
Keywords
carbon neutral, clean heating, China
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-304966 (URN)10.3390/en14227461 (DOI)000723620500001 ()2-s2.0-85119378119 (Scopus ID)
Note

QC 20211215

Available from: 2021-11-17 Created: 2021-11-17 Last updated: 2023-08-28Bibliographically approved
Su, C. & Urban, F. (2021). Circular economy for clean energy transitions: A new opportunity under the COVID-19 pandemic. Applied Energy, 289, Article ID 116666.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Circular economy for clean energy transitions: A new opportunity under the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 (English)In: Applied Energy, ISSN 0306-2619, E-ISSN 1872-9118, Vol. 289, article id 116666Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper models the energy and emissions scenarios for a circular economy based clean energy transitions in a 140,000-population town in China, taking into account the new situation encountered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The modelled scenarios propose new clean energy transition roadmaps towards a sustainable urban system through the implementation of circular economy strategies. This is represented by the cascading use of industrial excess heat to form symbiosis between factories and to cover the growing building heat demand, as well as by the electrification of the transport sector and reusing the batteries for a second life as energy storage devices. The results show that for a circular economy scenario, during 2020-2040, an accumulated saving of 7.1 Mtoe final energy use (34%), a decline in 14.5 Mt CO2 emissions (40%) and 592 t PM(2.5 )emissions (43%) could be achieved compared with the business-as-usual scenario. The outcomes of the circular economy strategies are at least 7% better than the new policy scenario which simply has energy efficiency improvements. The outbreak of the COVID-19 tremendously impacts the socio-economic activities in the town. If taking the pandemic as an opportunity to enhance the circular economy, by 2040, compared with the scenario without introducing circular economy measures, the extra avoided final energy use, CO2 emissions and PM2.5 emissions could be 1.6 Mtoe (8%), 3.8 Mt (11%) and 229 t (17%) respectively.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV, 2021
Keywords
Sustainability, Energy transition, Circular economy, COVID-19
National Category
Health Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-292972 (URN)10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116666 (DOI)000633142900002 ()36567826 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85101687550 (Scopus ID)
Note

QC 20210419

Available from: 2021-04-19 Created: 2021-04-19 Last updated: 2023-09-21Bibliographically approved
Su, C., Dalgren, J. & Palm, B. (2021). High-resolution mapping of the clean heat sources for district heating in Stockholm City. Energy Conversion and Management, 235, Article ID 113983.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>High-resolution mapping of the clean heat sources for district heating in Stockholm City
2021 (English)In: Energy Conversion and Management, ISSN 0196-8904, E-ISSN 1879-2227, Vol. 235, article id 113983Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Decarbonizing the district heating sector is a key measure to achieve the 2040 net-zero emissions target for Stockholm City. One significant question to answer is to find out the locations of all the clean non-fossil fuel heat sources that could be used for district heating within the city?s administrative boundary, and to evaluate how much heat could be extracted from these heat sources. This paper maps out both the geolocations and the technical potentials of the clean non-fossil fuel heat sources for densely populated Stockholm City region, using Geographical Information System based integrative-analysis method. The mapping achieves 1-meter highresolution and provides integrated open datasets to overcome the data availability issue. The mapping results show that a great number of clean and non-fossil fuel heat sources are available for district heating in Stockholm City. By fully unlocking the potentials of these heat sources, around 7054 GWh heat energy is estimated to be possibly exploited per year, which could cover 100% of the existing district heating energy requirement in Stockholm City. The potential share of each mapped heat source is: water bodies 48.3%, data centers 45.4%, supermarkets 4.5%, underground subway stations 0.8%, sewage plants 0.5%, shallow geothermal 0.3% and ice rinks 0.2%. A total of 9 heat sources clusters are identified, which could be prioritized for clean heating energy exploitation. By using the high-resolution mapping, the district heating utilities could plan the capacity in a forward looking way according to the local heat source availability. The method pipeline developed in this study could be recommended to other cities with district heating needs and assist their clean district heating transition roadmap design.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV, 2021
Keywords
District heating, Heat source, Geographical Information System (GIS), High-resolution
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-293554 (URN)10.1016/j.enconman.2021.113983 (DOI)000636289300002 ()2-s2.0-85102389567 (Scopus ID)
Note

QC 20210517

Available from: 2021-05-17 Created: 2021-05-17 Last updated: 2022-06-25Bibliographically approved
Su, C., Madani Larijani, H., Liu, H., Wang, R. & Palm, B. (2020). Sea water heat pumps in China: A spatial analysis. Energy Conversion and Management, 203, Article ID 112240.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Sea water heat pumps in China: A spatial analysis
Show others...
2020 (English)In: Energy Conversion and Management, ISSN 0196-8904, E-ISSN 1879-2227, Vol. 203, article id 112240Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Fossil fuel based building space heating and cooling contribute to more than 10% total final energy consumption in China. Consequent carbon dioxide and air pollutants emissions bring about atmospheric pressure and associated respiratory diseases. Seawater heat pumps as a candidate sustainable building space heating and cooling solution can alleviate such environmental pressure since China has a long coastline and many coastal cities have the possibility for seawater heat pump implementation. However, stakeholders are still suffering from insufficient understanding of seawater heat pumps feasibility in different coastal cities of China from techno-economic, environmental and geographical perspectives. This paper proposes a systematic method to evaluate seawater heat pump potential in different locations of China considering various local spatial parameters in the source and sink side of the energy system. A key performance indicator system is introduced to quantitatively analyze the relative advantages and disadvantages of applying seawater heat pumps compared with status-quo systems. Quantitative evaluation results show that seawater heat pumps have a higher potential in north Chinese coastal cities from techno-economic point of view when compared with existing heating and cooling systems. Environmentally, seawater heat pumps have to reach a critical seasonal coefficient of performance value to guarantee its potential in carbon emissions saving. In south Chinese coastal cities, seawater heat pumps have to reach a more satisfactory system efficiency and a more competitive system cost in order to exploit its full advantages over status-quo systems from techno-economic perspectives. Environmentally, seawater heat pumps are more attractive than competing technologies in south cities. Also, north Chinese cities are geographically more feasible for seawater heat pumps applications compared with south cities.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2020
Keywords
Seawater, heat pump, China
National Category
Energy Engineering
Research subject
Energy Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-266164 (URN)10.1016/j.enconman.2019.112240 (DOI)000504504000004 ()2-s2.0-85074705050 (Scopus ID)
Projects
STINT - NSFC
Funder
The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT)
Note

QC 20200103

Available from: 2020-01-02 Created: 2020-01-02 Last updated: 2022-06-26Bibliographically approved
Su, C., Madani Larijani, H. & Palm, B. (2019). A systematic multi-criteria assessment infrastructure for residential building heating technologies in china. In: ICAE 2019 - International Conference on Applied Energy: . Paper presented at 11th International Conference on Applied Energy, ICAE 2019, Västerås, Sweden, Aug 12 2019 - Aug 15 2019. Scanditale AB
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A systematic multi-criteria assessment infrastructure for residential building heating technologies in china
2019 (English)In: ICAE 2019 - International Conference on Applied Energy, Scanditale AB , 2019Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

China nowadays faces comprehensive challenges on supplying modern clean space heating to a majority of its citizens. Various building space heating technologies are implemented throughout north and south China. However, investors and policy makers are suffering from a lack of a systematic assessment tool to evaluate which heating technology to choose based on unique local conditions from techno-economic and environmental perspectives. This paper fulfills such research gap by proposing a multi-criteria assessment infrastructure to assist relative stakeholders evaluate potentials of different space heating technologies. The proposed infrastructure is multi-disciplinary and requires to handle a large amount of data from various sources, which can well reflect the feasibility of building space heating technologies systematically.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Scanditale AB, 2019
Keywords
China, multi-criteria infrastructure, residential building, space heating, system analysis
National Category
Energy Engineering Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-353540 (URN)2-s2.0-85202472539 (Scopus ID)
Conference
11th International Conference on Applied Energy, ICAE 2019, Västerås, Sweden, Aug 12 2019 - Aug 15 2019
Note

QC 20240924

Available from: 2024-09-19 Created: 2024-09-19 Last updated: 2024-09-24Bibliographically approved
Su, C., Madani Larijani, H. & Palm, B. (2019). A Systematic multi-criteria assessment infrastucture for residential building heating technologies in China. In: 11th International Conference on Applied Energy 2019: . Paper presented at 11th International Conference on Applied Energy 2019, Aug 12-15, 2019, Västerås, Sweden. , Article ID 0830.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A Systematic multi-criteria assessment infrastucture for residential building heating technologies in China
2019 (English)In: 11th International Conference on Applied Energy 2019, 2019, article id 0830Conference paper, Oral presentation only (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

China nowadays faces comprehensive challenges on supplying modern clean space heating to a majority of its citizens. Various building space heating technologies are implemented throughout north and south China. However, investors and policy makers are suffering from a lack of a systematic assessment tool to evaluate which heating technology to choose based on unique local conditions from techno-economic and environmental perspectives. This paper fulfills such research gap by proposing a multi-criteria assessment infrastructure to assist relative stakeholders evaluate potentials of different space heating technologies. The proposed infrastructure is multi-disciplinary and requires to handle a large amount of data from various sources, which can well reflect the feasibility of building space heating technologies systematically.

Keywords
residential building, space heating, multi-criteria infrastructure, system analysis, China
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-266468 (URN)
Conference
11th International Conference on Applied Energy 2019, Aug 12-15, 2019, Västerås, Sweden
Note

QC 20200115

Available from: 2020-01-14 Created: 2020-01-14 Last updated: 2022-06-26Bibliographically approved
Su, C. (2019). Building heating solutions in China: A spatial system analysis. (Doctoral dissertation). Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Building heating solutions in China: A spatial system analysis
2019 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Modern, clean, accessible and affordable building space heating is key tofuture sustainable development in China. However, it is impossible to recommendidentical building space heating solutions for all spaces in such alarge country as China. The decision making for choosing the most feasiblebuilding space heating solution is associated with a number of local characteristic spatial parameters, and stakeholders are still suffering from insufficient understanding of at which locations and under what conditions to choose a certain technology. Therefore, the present thesis aims at llingthis research gap by four steps: first, review current space heating situationin China; second, develop a systematic evaluation method for proper choice on building heating solution in different geolocations of China; third,demonstrate the efficacy of proposed method by case studies; fourth, analysethe Chinese energy sector administration infrastructure and its influence on building heating solutions.

Step one is to understand the current status of building space heating in China, including what technologies currently prevail and where they are implemented, as well as their application scales. It is found that under existing energy structures, coal as the primary energy source is extensively consumed in space heating systems. Coal-based regional boilers and combined heat and power district heating is prevalent in North China. Distributed heating, such as reversible air-conditioners, is still dominating South China. During past decade, sustainable energy space heating is increasing rapidly under a series of national policy initiatives, and will continue to grow in the future.

Following the current status review, a systematic method featured by spatial analysis is developed to compare the various heating options and find the best alternative. The method contains three system boundary levels, which reflect the characters of space heating technology, heat source, heat sink as well as the primary energy system. In each system level, local spatial parameters are analyzed. A set of key performance indicators is selected to quantitatively compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of implementing one building space heating solution over another from techno-economic-environmental as well geographical perspectives.

Case studies are then carried out to demonstrate the application of the method. In case study one, two Chinese cities with different local spatial conditions are chosen. Ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps are compared with status-quo space heating solutions, which are coal boilers and electric boilers. The results lie in three aspects. Technically, heat pumps are more efficient than boilers from a primary energy point of view. Economically, ground source heat pumps have to reach a satisfying seasonal coefficient of performance value of 3.7 for a competitive payback period against existing heating solutions. Environmentally, heat pumps have to reach a critical seasonal coefficient of performance value around 2.5 to guarantee their environmental advantages compared with directly burning coal for space heating as long as coal is the dominant source of energy to produce electricity. Such a threshold is fairly easy to reach considering the coefficient of performance of the heat pumps in the market.

Case study two investigates seawater heat pumps potential in four coastal cities from north to south China. From techno-economic perspective, in North China seawater heat pumps can save primary energy use upto 18% in space heating, and can have a discounted payback period as short as 4 years compared with coal boilers. In southern Chinese cities on the other hand, seawater heat pumps can save primary energy use upto 14% in space heating but the discounted payback period is often more than 10 years compared with status-quo system. Environmentally, in North China seawater heat pumps have to reach a critical seasonal coefficient of performance value around 2.4 to guarantee their potential in carbon emissions saving when compared with fossil fuel boilers. In South China, seawater heat pumps generally emit less greenhouse gases than competing technologies. Geographically speaking, northern coastal cities are more feasible for seawater heat pumps applications compared with southern cities, as many buildings in northern coastal cities are within a proper distance to the seawater for efficient utilization of seawater for space heating and cooling.

Energy administration structure and energy policies in China are anavilyzed in parallel with case studies, in order to understand how energy management in China is regulated and how effective such energy policies can be. It is shown that energy administrations in China have great influence on the implementation of energy technologies and many energy policies are quite effective in promoting renewable space heating technologies.

In conclusion, stakeholders are suggested to adopt the system method proposed in this thesis, to promote the best building heating solution based on local spatial characteristics. By using the method in case studies, it is concluded that for heat pumps, a number of prerequisites have to be fullled for a more successful application in China. Future emphasis should be placed on heat pumps efficiency improvements, operation management and cost reduction. Meanwhile, increasing the share of zero-carbon electricity in the energy system should be a long-term goal so that the environmental benefits of heat pumps can be more prominent.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2019. p. 140
Series
TRITA-ITM-AVL ; 2019:39
Keywords
Building; heating; spatial; system; China
National Category
Energy Engineering
Research subject
Energy Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-263854 (URN)978-91-7873-382-8 (ISBN)
Public defence
2019-12-17, Kollegiesalen, Brinellvägen 8, Stockholm, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2019-11-22 Created: 2019-11-16 Last updated: 2022-06-26Bibliographically approved
Su, C., Madani Larijani, H. & Palm, B. (2019). Building heating solutions in China: A spatial techno-economic and environmental analysis. Energy Conversion and Management, 179, 201-218
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Building heating solutions in China: A spatial techno-economic and environmental analysis
2019 (English)In: Energy Conversion and Management, ISSN 0196-8904, E-ISSN 1879-2227, Vol. 179, p. 201-218Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Fast urbanization process and promotion of life standard in China requires a great amount of energy input in building heating sector. North China now faces challenges of upgrading existing fossil fuel based high emission district heating systems into more environmental friendly heating systems. South China is discussing to choose proper building heating solutions for new and existing buildings which lack proper heating facilities. Renewable heating technologies such as ground source heat pump and air source heat pump are candidates to upgrade traditional heating solutions such as fossil fuel boilers and electric heaters. In order to find the most feasible building heating solution for different geolocations of China, this paper proposes a spatial data based techno-economic and environmental analysis methodology to fulfill such research gap. Case studies are carried out in two selected cities by using proposed methodology. Evaluation model shows that, heat pumps is quite competitive in south China compared with electric heaters, whereas in north China heat pumps have to reach several preconditions to be competitive with coal boiler district heating system under current techno-economic and environmental situations. In north China, a heat pump should reach a minimum seasonal coefficient of performance of 2.5-3.7 (for ground source heat pump) or 2.7-3.0 (for air source heat pump) to become CO2 and PM2.5 emission neutral as well as economically competitive compared with coal boiler district heating system. The advantage of proposed methodology is its simplicity in execution and could be repeated to other areas as the data required are available.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2019
Keywords
Spatial data analysis, District heating, Electric heating, Heat pump, Building heating solution, China
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-240345 (URN)10.1016/j.enconman.2018.10.062 (DOI)000451490200017 ()2-s2.0-85055623234 (Scopus ID)
Note

QC 20181217

Available from: 2018-12-17 Created: 2018-12-17 Last updated: 2022-06-26Bibliographically approved
Gao, J. T., Xu, Z. Y., Chiu, J. N., Su, C. & Wang, R. Z. (2019). Feasibility and economic analysis of solution transportation absorption system for long-distance thermal transportation under low ambient temperature. Energy Conversion and Management, 196, 793-806
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Feasibility and economic analysis of solution transportation absorption system for long-distance thermal transportation under low ambient temperature
Show others...
2019 (English)In: Energy Conversion and Management, ISSN 0196-8904, E-ISSN 1879-2227, Vol. 196, p. 793-806Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Sensible heat transportation with water is widely adopted in traditional heating network, which suffers from the low energy transportation density and inevitable heat loss for long-distance heat transportation. To address these two issues, the solution transportation absorption system has been proposed, which transports the thermal energy by stable chemical potential. However, boundary between the two technologies is not clear due to the lack of direct comparison on both technological and economic aspects. In this work, feasibility analysis of the solution transportation absorption system is performed using Aspen plus, and low ambient temperature is considered for a practical scenario. Economic contrast is performed by exergoeconomic analysis. Results show that the coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency of the solution transportation absorption system can reach 0.556 and 24.6% in optimal condition. The energy transportation density is nearly three times higher than that of traditional sensible heat transportation. Moreover, the exergoeconomic analysis indicates that the new system is more economical when the distance exceeds 6 km. It has been proved that the solution transportation absorption system is a feasible and economical way to efficiently transport thermal energy over long distance.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2019
Keywords
Ammonia-water, Absorption cycle, Thermal energy transportation, Exergoeconomic analysis, Simulation
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-261005 (URN)10.1016/j.enconman.2019.06.052 (DOI)000484881400062 ()2-s2.0-85067786522 (Scopus ID)
Note

QC 20191003

Available from: 2019-10-03 Created: 2019-10-03 Last updated: 2025-01-28Bibliographically approved
Su, C., Madani, H. & Palm, B. (2018). Heating solutions for residential buildings in China: Current status and future outlook. Energy Conversion and Management, 177, 493-510
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Heating solutions for residential buildings in China: Current status and future outlook
2018 (English)In: Energy Conversion and Management, ISSN 0196-8904, E-ISSN 1879-2227, Vol. 177, p. 493-510Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

With continuing of urbanization, improving of life quality as well as combating against air pollution, China is facing comprehensive challenges to supply modem clean heating to a majority of its citizens. For space heating solutions, currently in urban areas of north China, coal based district heating is prevalent. In urban areas of south China, distributed heating solutions are used. In rural areas, de-centralized coal stoves and biomass stoves are still commonly used. As renewable building heating solution, ground source heat pumps are installed for large scale applications. Building floor areas heated by ground source heat pumps increased tremendously during past ten years. Air source heat pump is being promoted in north Chinese rural areas as part of coal to clean heating project. Solar water heater and electric water heater for domestic hot water supply is widely used in north China and gas water boiler is widely used in south China. A series of policies have encouraged clean fossil fuel district heating in north China. National development plans are also supporting and subsidizing renewable heating technology such as heat pumps. Different building heating technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages from techno-economic and environmental perspectives. The choice of building heating solutions for different geolocations of China is strongly affected by spatial parameters such as local climate condition, population distribution, natural resource availability etc. Therefore, a spatial data analysis method is essential to help stakeholders decide proper building heating solutions in different parts of China by key performance indicators reflecting lower primary energy use, economic affordability and lower environmental impact.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2018
Keywords
Building heating solution, District heating, Distributed heating, Heat pump, China
National Category
Mechanical Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-239973 (URN)10.1016/j.enconman.2018.10.005 (DOI)000451356300040 ()2-s2.0-85054232647 (Scopus ID)
Note

QC 20181211

Available from: 2018-12-11 Created: 2018-12-11 Last updated: 2024-03-18Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-9362-7421

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