A method for mapping areas potentially suitable for district heating systems. An application to Canton Ticino (Switzerland)

The technical literature underlines the strategic role of district heating systems (DHS) in the decarbonization process in the European context. The main scope of this work is to develop a method for identifying areas potentially suitable for DHS, taking heat need density as the main metric. The method is tested for the case study of Canton Ticino (Switzerland) and allows analysis of the total and public building stock. This implies the collection and elaboration of energy data about public buildings, providing a dataset formerly unavailable. Because these buildings are managed by a few owners who are generally asked to be exemplary in terms of sustainability, they could have a pivotal role for the development of DHS. By using a multi-criteria and GIS- supported method, the study ensures the mapping of areas potentially suitable for DHS and renewable sources available for thermal purposes toward low carbon targets. Based on the results of the research, it is estimated that potentially 17% of the global heat needs in Canton Ticino could be satisfied by DHS, by also exploiting thermal renewable energy sources locally available. The consistency of the method was tested through a validation on the existing DHS.