The new generation of District heating & cooling networks and their potential development in France.

In order to contribute to the decarbonization of heating consumption, France has set some objectives to develop District heating and/or cooling networks (DHCN). In this context, it is useful to identify the most appropriate district areas for implementing DHCN, and to assess their potential of development. After introducing the situation of DHCN in France, this paper presents a typology to assess the potential of development of those networks in France, based on an original method that involves the calculation of 3 variables: the linear heating/cooling density (LHD/LCD), the Proportion of Buildings anterior to 1990 and the share of energy consumption from the residential sector, to assess respectively the energy density, the supply temperatures and the energy mix between the different sectors of activities. LHD and LCD are calculated using a Delaunay triangulation and Kruskal's algorithm applied to buildings whose heating and cooling demands are calculated at a local scale. 18 different types of districts are defined for both DHN and DCN, among which 9 have a sufficient LHD/LCD. Then, the potential of development for DHN and DCN is calculated on the French territory. Thus, the DHN potential is assessed to 132 TWh/y while the DCN potential is assessed to 7.8 TWh/y. • Evolution of District Heating and/or Cooling Network (DHCN) in France. • A method to assess the linear density for potential networks. • A new typology of districts built from the point of view of the heating/cooling network integration. • An estimation of the potential of development for DHN and DCN in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]