a job
By 2040, heat and hot water in Vienna should be generated exclusively in a “climate neutral” manner, i.e. without carbon dioxide emissions. The city prepared and presented the “Vienna Heat Plan 2040” today.
Some time ago, Vienna set itself the goal of ending fossil dominance in heating and hot water by 2040. The approximately 600,000 gas heaters currently installed are also scheduled to be replaced with systems using renewable energy. There is now a targeted picture of what change should look like: the “Vienna Heat Agenda 2024,” which was presented on Monday.
It takes into account the entire building stock of the urban area and shows areas where district heating could be expanded – which should be generated in a completely climate-neutral way by 2040. However, those areas that need other solutions are also included. According to the city, the establishment of the thermal plan was preceded by a comprehensive preparation and planning phase.
The regions are divided into three categories
Zones are defined based on current and projected heat requirements. Local conditions and infrastructure were taken into account. Important points included connecting district heating or the question of whether geothermal energy could be used. Three categories have been identified: areas where district heating is the best option, areas with good suitability for local heating networks and areas where individual climate-neutral supplies should be relied upon.
Based on the general categories, further subdivisions are defined, for example, regarding district heating. Here you can find the areas where these lines already exist, as well as the areas where connection to existing lines is possible or where a comprehensive expansion is being implemented or at least planned for the future. In any case, the length of the district heating network should reach 1,700 kilometers in the future.
Geothermal energy as an alternative
In addition, District Heating Together areas have been identified in which expansion of district heating is not currently planned due to existing capacities. At the same time, they also have a dense build. This makes it particularly suitable for collective heat supply over local networks, it was said.
Other existing energy sources such as geothermal energy should be used for this purpose. It is possible to supply several buildings together using heat pumps. Unsurprisingly, the areas where local systems should be used are mainly located in overseas regions.
