Consortium WarmteWerkt develops ‘inspiration map heat zoning’ for local authorities
WarmteWerkt aims to develop the ‘inspiration map for heat zoning’ for local authorities on behalf of the VVSG Climate Network. WarmteWerkt is a top-level Flemish consortium in which VITO/EnergyVille and Agifly have joined forces with the engineering offices Antea Belgium, Ingenium, Kelvin Solutions and SWECO Belgium. In this way, a large part of the available knowledge in Flanders has been combined. We are convinced that this is a bonus for this assignment, but certainly also for the follow-up process with the local authorities. In this way, the potential partners who assist local authorities are familiar with the system that will be developed, which benefits efficiency and uniformity.
The ‘inspiration map for heat zoning’ will be a pioneering tool for all local authorities in Flanders, which has the ambition to help pave the way to fossil-free heating and cooling of buildings by 2050. This map will start from the current heat maps of the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA) (Dutch only) and will offer cities and municipalities a tool to make a distinction on their territory between, on the one hand, zones where collective heating of buildings through a heat network is preferred and, on the other hand, zones where the heat supply should preferably be organised individually. The inspiration map will also offer the possibility to fine-tune parameters to the specific local context, to add or adjust existing heat sources and to make simulations about possible future developments (e.g. new housing estates). Moreover, the local authorities can count on support from the VVSG Climate Network and the experts from the consortium for the use of the inspiration map.
A number of important starting points form the basis of the inspiration map for heat zoning. Fossil fuels – such as natural gas and fuel oil – will be phased out and heat will eventually be generated exclusively from renewable energy sources or electricity. Heat networks will also evolve in the future from higher to lower temperature regimes, so that not only larger heat sources such as waste incinerators or industrial plants, but also smaller and more dispersed heat sources at lower temperatures will be better utilised. At present, however, there is no reliable overview of available heat sources in Flanders. Therefore, in order to draw up the map, the supply of heat will be matched with the demand for heat. Not only residual heat will be used, but also a wide range of possible heat sources, such as thermal solar energy, biomass (residual) flows, residual waste (partly biogenic), geothermal, aqua and sewage heat, collective heating installations, etc. Furthermore, a heat network can be large-scale, but where the local context demands it, micro heat networks can just as well be organised for e.g. small groups of houses.
The inspiration map on heat zoning will be available for the cities and municipalities in the course of mid-December 2021 and will be presented in detail on the inspiration day on heat, Tuesday 14 December 2021.
More information about the VVSG Climate Network: https://www.vvsg.be/milieu-klimaat-duurzaamheid/energie-en-klimaat (Dutch only)
More information about the EnergyVille studies on thermal networks: https://www.energyville.be/en/research/thermal-networks
