Use of district heating and cooling systems has many environmental advantages compared to individual heating and cooling. Recent advances in solar energy technologies for heat and power generation have reduced their cost and promoted their use instead of fossil fuels. Solar-PV energy for electricity generation and solar thermal energy for hot water production are broadly used today. Solar energy resources in the Mediterranean region are abundant while space cooling in buildings is required when solar irradiance is high. The possibility of using solar energy for fuelling water chillers providing cold water in district cooling systems in the Mediterranean basin has been investigated. Existing literature and studies concerning the use of district cooling systems globally as well as the energy sources used in them have been examined. Solar-PV energy combined with compression chillers and solar thermal energy combined with thermally driven chillers can be used for cold water production. Their overall efficiencies, converting solar energy to cold water, vary between 22% and 56% compared with 45% for compression chillers using grid electricity. It is concluded that various solar energy technologies could be used with different types of water chillers for fuelling district cooling networks in the future in the Mediterranean region.
Galatoulas, F., Frere, M. and Ioakimidis, C.S. (2018) An Overview of Renewable Smart District Heating and Cooling Applications with Thermal Storage in Europe. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems, Funchal, 16-18 March 2018, 311-319. https://doi.org/10.5220/0006785703110319
Parageorgiou, K.P., Anastaselos, D. and Paradopoulos, A.M. (2006) District Cooling, a Technology with Great Potential of Application. International Workshop on Energy Performance and Environmental Quality of Buildings, Milos Island, July 2006, 1-6.
SETIS, Energy Research Knowledge Center (2014) Thematic Research Summary, Smart District Heating and Cooling. https://setis.ec.europa.eu/energy-research/sites/default/files/library/ERKC_%20TRS_Smart_ District_HC.pdf
Mortensen, B.O.G. (2014) Legal Framework as a Core Element of District Cooling Success—The Case of Denmark. Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 2, 41-48. https://doi.org/10.4236/jpee.2014.29007
Beccali, M., Giulla, G., Di Pietra, B., Galatioto, A., Leone, G. and Piacentino, A. (2017) Assessing the Feasibility of Co-Generation Retrofit and District Heating/ Cooling Networks in Small Italian Islands. Energy, 141, 2572-2586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.07.011
Moia-Pol, A., Martinez-Moll, V., Pujol Nadal, R. and Rigo Serra, J.M. (2014) Solar Thermal Potential for Collective Systems in Palma Beach (Balearic Island’s). Energy Procedia, 48, 1118-1123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.02.126
Rogowska, A. (2003) District Cooling by a Geothermal Heat Source. The United Nations University, Geothermal Training Program, Reykjavik, Report 19, 465-487.
Werner, S. (2017) District Heating and Cooling in Sweden. Energy, 126, 419-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.03.052
(2006) Possibilities with More District Cooling in Europe, ECOHEATCOOL, Final Report. Intelligent Energy Europe Program. https://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/projects/sites/iee-projects/files/projects/documents/ecoheatcool _more_district_cooling_in_europe.pdf
District Cooling and the Customer’s Alternative Cost, Work Package 2, Rescue Project (2012-2015). http://www.rescue-project.eu
Vourdoubas, J. (2015) Creation of Hotels with Zero CO2 Emissions Due to Energy Use: A Case Study in Crete, Greece. Journal of Energy and Power Sources, 2, 301-307. https://doi.org/10.15640/jea.v3n2a9
Jungbauer, J., Serrano Garcia, D., Wallisch, A., Dalin, P., Terouanne, D. and Wirgentins, N. (2011) Measurements of Individual Chiller Systems Compared to District Cooling Solutions. ECEEE 2011 Summer Study, Energy Efficiency First, The Foundation of a Low Carbon Society, 1423-1430.
Dominkovic, D.F., Bin Abdul Rashid, K.A., Romagnoli, A., Pedersen, A.S. and Leong, K.C. (2017) Potential of District Cooling in Hot and Humid Climates. Applied Energy, 208, 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.052
Lo, I.A., Lau, I.B. and Cheng, V. (2013) Challenges of District Cooling Systems Implementation in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Regional Conference “Urban Density and Sustainability”, Hong Kong, 12-13 September 2013.
Gang, W., Wang, S., Xiao, F. and Gao, D. (2015) Performance Assessment of District Cooling System Coupled with Different Energy Technologies in Subtropical Areas. Energy Procedia, 75, 1235-1241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.166
Asian Development Bank (2017) District Cooling in the People’s Republic of China—Status and Development Potential. https://doi.org/10.22617/RPT168582-2
Passerini, F., Sterling, R., Keane, M., Klobut, K. and Costa, A. (2017) Energy Efficiency Facets: Innovative District Cooling Systems. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 4, 310-318. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2017.4.3S(6)
International Renewable Energy Agency (2017) Renewable Energy in District Heating and Cooling. https://www.irena.org/publications/2017/Mar/Renewable-energy-in-district-heating-and-cooling
Hashim, H., Lim, J.S., Muis, Z.A., Liew, P.Y., Ho, W.S., et al. (2017) Technical and Economic Evaluation of District Cooling System as Low Carbon Alternative in Kuala Lumpur City. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 56, 529-534.
Werner, S. (2017) International Review of District Heating and Cooling. Energy, 137, 617-631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.04.045
Perez-Mora, N., Bave, F., Andersen, M., Bales, Ch., Lennermo, G., Nielsen, Ch., Furbo, S. and Martinez-Moll, V. (2017) Solar District Heating and Cooling: A Review. International Journal of Energy Research, 42, 1419-1441. https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3888
Huang, L. and Zheng, R. (2018) Energy and Economic Performance of Solar Cooling Systems in the Hot-Summer and Cold Winter-Zone. Buildings, 8, 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings8030037
Marugan-Cruz, C., Sanchez-Delgado, S., Rodriguez-Sanchez, M.R., Venegas, M. and Santana, D. (2015) District Cooling Network Connected to a Solar Power Tower. Applied Thermal Engineering, 79, 174-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.01.032
Franchini, G., Brumana, G. and Perdichizzi, A. (2018) Performance Prediction of a Solar District Cooling System in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—A Case Study. Energy Conversion and Management, 166, 372-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.04.048
Perez-Mora, N., Lazzeroni, P., Canals, V., Repetto, M. and Martinez-Moll, V. (2016) Optimal Solar District Cooling Harvesting Scenarios. Conference EuroSun 2016, Palma de Mallorca, 11-14 October 2016. https://doi.org/10.18086/eurosun.2016.05.07
Benz, S. (2016) Thermal Storage for District Cooling. Symposium on Thermal Energy Storage, Operational Experience and Economic Value, Austin, 8-12 February 2016. https://www.districtenergy.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey =24d25099-db95-85fc-3c80-21802ec05a8f
Al Quabeh, H., Saab, R. and Ali, M.I.H. (2019) Chilled Water Storage Feasibility with District Cooling Chiller in Tropical Environment. Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems. https://doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.d7.0259
Johansson, C., Martin, V., He, B. and Setterwall, F. Distributed High Capacity Cold Storage in District Cooling Systems. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f875/497b56c3c5683b7e81fff096d84a40c96cc1.pdf