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The forthcoming implementation of national policies towards hydrogen blending into the natural gas grid will affect the technical and economic parameters that must be taken into account in the design of building heating systems. This study evaluates the implications of using hydrogen-enriched natural gas (H2NG) blends in condensing boilers and Gas Adsorption Heat Pumps (GAHPs) in a residential building in Rome, Italy. The analysis considers several parameters, including non-renewable primary energy consumption, CO2 emissions, Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH), and Carbon Abatement Cost (CAC). The results show that a 30% hydrogen blend achieves a primary energy consumption reduction of 12.05% and 11.19% in boilers and GAHPs, respectively. The presence of hydrogen in the mixture exerts a more pronounced influence on the reduction in fossil primary energy and CO2 emissions in condensing boilers, as it enhances combustion efficiency. The GAHP system turns out to be more cost-effective due to its higher efficiency. At current hydrogen costs, the LCOH of both technologies increases as the volume fraction of hydrogen increases. The forthcoming cost reduction in hydrogen will reduce the LCOH and the decarbonization cost for both technologies. At low hydrogen prices, the CAC for boilers is lower than for GAHPs; therefore, replacing boilers with other gas technologies rather than electric heat pumps increases the risk of creating stranded assets. In conclusion, blending hydrogen into the gas grid can be a useful policy to reduce emissions from the overall natural gas consumption during the process of end-use electrification, while stimulating the development of a hydrogen economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving a zero-emission building heating sector requires numerous strategies and detailed energy planning, in order to identify the optimal decarbonisation pathway. This work aims to assess the impact of district heating expansion and the implementation of energy-saving measures on the decarbonisation of the Italian building stock by 2050, analysing their combined impact, reciprocal effects, and technical–economic implications on the entire national energy system. The scenarios have been implemented and simulated with the H2RES software, a long-term energy planning optimisation model, built for the Italian national energy system. Results indicate that it is possible to decarbonise the heating system in an efficient and cost-effective manner by the year 2040. Heat pumps represent the optimal technology at both centralised and decentralised levels. District heating expansion is a priority for the decarbonisation of the building stock, allowing us to reduce costs, exploit thermal storage systems and provide system flexibility. In the best scenario, 40% of the Italian heat demand can be supplied by fourth-generation district heating. Energy-saving measures can reduce heat demand and primary energy but at higher annual costs and with a significant increase in investment. The combined simulation of the strategies within an optimisation model of the entire energy system enables the accurate assessment of the real impact of the various measures, considering their reciprocal effects and technical–economic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing penetration of non-programmable energy sources will largely contribute to intensify the renewable capacity firming issues. Providing a higher systems flexibility, i.e. the ability to match the supply and the demand sides as much as possible, is the main challenge to cope with, by adopting new energy planning paradigms. In this framework, different combined strategies, aiming at efficiently integrating that large amount of variable RES (VRES), have to be implemented. In the recent years, the Smart Energy Systems (SES) concept has been introduced to overcome the single-sector approach, promoting a holistic and integrated vision. By that approach, it is possible to exploit synergies between different energy sectors so as to identify the best technical options to globally reduce the primary fossil energy consumption. Starting from a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the most recent international studies dealing with the SES approach, the aim of this paper is to critically review and analyse the role of the main potential flexibility measures applied in the energy planning sector. In detail, Power-to-X and Demand Side Management (DSM) application have been considered, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of such strategies to accomplish the ambitious target of 100% renewable. From this literature review, it emerges how a single strategy adoption is not enough to guarantee the required flexibility level for the whole energy system. Indeed, the best configuration can be attained by integrating different options matching all the external constraints.

In accordance with national regulations, the renovation of the residential sector is an urgent task for achieving significant reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the existing building stock. Social housing is particularly in need of such interventions, given the higher vulnerability of its inhabitants and its crucial role in furthering social welfare and environmental sustainability objectives. Both passive and active strategies have proved their efficacy in advancing towards these goals and also in mitigating increasing fuel poverty in low-income families. However, to optimize the best combination of such retrofit strategies, advanced optimization methodologies can be applied. Here, a multi-objective optimization methodology is implemented by a genetic algorithm (aNSGA-II) coupled to EnergyPlus dynamic energy simulations. Then, the energy consumption of the optimal solution is considered by means of EnergyPLAN simulations for the further application of active strategies. The two-step method is tested on a relevant case study, a social housing building in Rome, Italy. Results show that the applied method reduced the energy demand by 51% with passive strategies only. Active strategy implementation allowed for a further reduction of 69% in CO2 emissions and 51% in energy costs. The two-step method proved effective in mitigating fuel poverty and decarbonizing the residential sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]