Background
Modern district heating and cooling (DHC) systems can significantly contribute to the achievement of national and European Union energy policy objectives. Amongst many other benefits they stand for the efficient use of energy and allow for a large-scale integration of renewables.
These feature have been extensively documented by the Intelligent Energy Europe supported “Ecoheatcool” study, available for download from www.ecoheatcool.org. One of the crucial preconditions for maximizing the benefits of ‘district heating and cooling’ is that a consistent and effective legislative framework is in place.
Given the difficulties associated with the cross-cutting nature of the technology, this however is not always the case.
