Emerging economies are including district energy in their long-term energy strategies, but they are often capital-intensive. In this study, we discuss reversible district energy systems, where the same piping is used for heating and cooling seasonally. The capacity factor of the infrastructure increases, decreasing required piping and therefore investment costs. Conventional and reversible district energy systems are compared for a municipality in Santiago, Chile. This innovation can increase cost-effectiveness in cities with highly seasonal weather.
Stéphane Coucke,Master Electromechanics candidate,University of liege