Decarbonising Heat Supply in Single-Family-House-Like Settlement Structures in Vienna
New Construction & Renovation Consulting Machbarkeitsstudien Lifecycle Costs & Economic Efficiency Smart Cities & Energiekonzepte Energy Services & Business Models Policy Advice & Energy Economics Wärmeplanung und thermische Netze für Quartiere und Gemeinden
The project investigated how heat supply in single-family-house-like settlement structures in Vienna can be decarbonised step by step. The focus was on areas outside future district heating expansion zones that are still mainly supplied by decentralised gas heating systems. The aim was to develop technical, organisational and economic solutions for renewable heat supply at both building and neighbourhood scale.
Three test cases with different framework conditions were analysed: a row-house settlement owned by a limited-profit housing developer, a pilot block in the Cottage district with fragmented private ownership, and a row house in Vienna’s 14th district. The study assessed both individual heat pump solutions and collective low-temperature and anergy network concepts.
In addition to technical concepts, the project evaluated investment and life-cycle costs, heat demand density, network infrastructure requirements, as well as governance and legal framework conditions. A key focus was the question under which conditions community-based heat supply solutions can become economically and organisationally feasible.
The results show that ownership structure, transaction costs and timing are critical factors for successful implementation. At the same time, the study demonstrates that collective heat supply solutions can also be technically feasible in areas with comparatively low heat demand density. The project provides a basis for future strategies to decarbonise existing neighbourhoods outside conventional district heating areas in Vienna.
