A workshop organised in the framework of the 4DH conference and the HRE4 project took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 11 September 2017, to foster the exchange and discussion of tools and methods used for H&C assessments.
The workshop was attended by more than 40 participants who, after initial presentations, broke into groups to discuss 5 main topics, ranging from user needs via mapping and waste heat to integrated modelling and energy systems’ analyses. In all topics, ways forward to improve existing tools and develop more useful methods were discussed and proposed.

 

 

 

 

From a user-needs perspective it seems important that tools are specific to the users and purposes. A similar conclusion was taken by the energy systems group, which does not believe that the one tool that fits all users will appear soon. On the other hand, separated tools for demand and supply modelling were not considered to be so practical in the long-run, even though it is still common practice today. Instead an integrated modelling of both elements was recommended. In order energy system analyses to be really valuable, a clear research question is very important.
Across all topics, data quality and availability was highly discussed. Data is often scattered or not available (e.g. excess heat potentials are generally estimated from alternative datasets, like emissions) or its quality is questionable (e.g. technology costs). Still, good data remains a prerequisite for sound analyses and robust results. Ways forward relate to open data sets, extended official statistics and also common activities instead of parallel data collection.

You can download the presentations here and find the summary outcome of the groups discussions here.