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Summary
District heating has been around for almost 150 years. Since the first commercial system was installed in New York in 1877, district heating systems have used insulated supply and return pipes to distribute heat to multiple buildings. While the first generation used steam produced by a central fossil fuel boiler, modern systems have evolved into a flexible infrastructure that can connect multiple energy and storage solutions and supply both heating and cooling. This way, they keep up with and actively sustain the rapidly changing global energy system, marked by rising electricity demand and a growing share of renewables.
Today, district heating supplies around 10% of global building heat demand, with much higher shares in Northern and Eastern Europe and China, and growing deployment in newer markets such as Canada and Ireland. Around 90% of global district heating supply is produced from fossil fuels today. The infrastructure can enable large-scale integration of renewable and other low-emissions sources, such as bioenergy, solar thermal and geothermal energy, and nuclear energy. While only a small part of networks already operates at low-temperature levels that make renewable integration straightforward, ongoing upgrades to pipes, substations, and controls will be critical to unlocking greater flexibility and efficiency.
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