In future energy systems, the high integration of different energy sectors and energy systems will be vital. Thus, district heating (DH) and cooling (DC) networks will be as important as electricity grids. This has brought special attention of researchers in these areas to further contribute to the advancement of the state-of-the-art. This covers a wide range of research themes including novel designs for the fundamental structures of these distributed energy systems, proposals for increasing the cost or technical effectiveness of the existing systems, techno-economic analyses of case studies hosting DH and DC systems, using artificial intelligence or demand-side management for optimal operation of these systems, so on and so forth. This special issue aims at attracting cutting-edge research and review articles on DH and DC systems.
Topics of Interest include, but are and not limited to, the following: Novel concepts and designs in DH and DC systems; Innovative solutions for the improvement of the existing DH and DC designs; Integration of renewable-based co-generation or trigeneration systems to DH and DC systems; Passive and active performance enhancement techniques on DH and DC system components; The use of centralized or decentralized energy storage systems in DH and DC systems; Optimization methods for optimal operation or planning in DH and DC systems; Dynamic modeling and cost analysis of DH and DC systems; Technical and economic investigations of case studies for the implementation of DH and DC systems.