Towards Positive Energy Districts

Heat Pump System Topology Design Guidelines

Abstract

A Positive Energy District (PED) envisions supporting the urban energy transition, requiring improved technologies and holistic planning processes. The “Campagne” project in Innsbruck serves as a demonstrator on the path towards PEDs. Multiple heat pump (HP) system topologies can be considered, ranging from fully central HP systems at district scale to semi-central solutions with a central low-temperature HP and booster HPs at building or flat level, as well as decentral building-wise HPs and mixed concepts such as central for space heating and decentral for domestic hot water. The optimal HP system topology depends on local boundary conditions, with decentral HPs generally outperforming central ones. Semi-central booster configurations achieve good energy performance but remain economically challenging, highlighting the need for decision-support workflows that enable cost-optimal design and serve as the basis for a future integral planning approach.