The transformation of the residential heating system of Amsterdam into a sustainable heating system that no longer makes use of natural gas in 2050, of which 230.000 households will be heated with district heating, demands an exploration of sustainable local heat sources to use for district heating in Amsterdam. This aligns with the fundamentals of Urban Symbiosis and district heating where the conscious choice is made for the use of local heat sources and their by-products to serve as heat input for the district heating system when the heat source is in geographic proximity. Since a high amount of DC and production of residual heat output are present in Amsterdam, which are recommended as suitable heat sources for district heating but not yet investigated, the use of DC as sustainable local heat source is chosen in this thesis to explore as supplying heat source for district heating to fulfil the heat demand of residential neighbourhoods in Amsterdam.

The research will search via a socio-technical perspective the technical feasibility of DC as heat source for district heating networks by estimating the extent of residual heat supply from the DC for residential neighbourhoods of Amsterdam. Furthermore, this thesis will search the social feasibility of the current institutional system of district heating with the addition of DC as heat supplying actor by mapping this as system configurations, since DC are not integrated yet in the district heating energy sector as heat supplying actor. The findings of this thesis will generate an insight of the elements of the current institutional system of district heating that facilitate or form a barrier for the integration of DC as heat supplying actor, while taking into consideration the technical feasibility of heat supply from DC for district heating.

Abstract

This thesis describes the energy flows and environmental improvement possibilities of the Amsterdam metropolitan area (AMA), using district heating as thermal energy supply system. Main challenges to over come are finding appropriate thermal supply systems that can serve the required heat wile increasing the overall sustainability. The research presents the environmental improvements and reviews design parameters of different technologies proposed. Results showed that different heat supply configurations can lead to sustainable improvements, mainly reducing the environmental impact concerning abiotic depletion and global warming potential. An analysis to inventory suitable locations that can be attached to the district heat network (DHN) has been carried out. Locations suited to connect to the DHN differ per methodology applied, but are mainly to be found in or near the larger cities of the AMA.