{"id":{"repo_id":"reykjavik","oai_identifier":"oai:skemman.is:1946/48017"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/reykjavik/oai:skemman.is:1946/48017","repository":{"repo_id":"reykjavik","name":"Reykjavík University","base_url":"https://skemman.is/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Environmental and economic analysis of thermal energy storage for a district heating system in Bolungarvik","abstract":"Even Iceland, which is known for its renewable energy and environmental efforts, is not immune to the current climate crisis or the issue of energy insecurity. The “cold regions”, such as the Westfjords, of Iceland are impacted the most since they lack access to geothermal resources for essential heating as well as robust energy infrastructure. Not only must they rely on electricity to meet both their heating and power demand, but these regions also experience frequent outages. The current backup systems supporting the energy demand in the Westfjords during outages are highly polluting diesel fueled generators and boilers. Finding a more reliable solution for heating and reducing emissions are time-sensitive priorities for these communities. This thesis investigates sustainable technology alternatives for a district heating system in a cold region of Iceland, using the town of Bolungarvik as a case study. The study explores options including e-fuels, heat pumps, and thermal energy storage (TES), ultimately determining that TES is the most suitable technology for this specific system and challenge. The evaluation is based on criteria such as cost, accessibility, ability to provide heat during power outages, and environmental impact. The research methodology includes a comprehensive assessment of the Bolungarvik’s heating demand, prediction of the outage scenarios, and optimization of the TES tank size. Additionally, the thesis outlines the design integration of the TES system into the existing infrastructure. The analysis concludes with calculations of fuel savings, CO_2 emission reductions, cost savings, and payback period for the new system. It found that for TES tank sizes varying from 9MWh capacity to 140MWh capacity, between 45-100% of standard predicted power outages could be covered, meaning 64-173 tons of CO_2 emissions from the diesel boilers could be avoided, and 3.4-9.1 Misk could be saved on the energy bill every year. For outage scenarios with greater frequency of outage occurrences and longer outage durations, even more savings are possible. But for an outage scenario including a long-term energy curtailment, none of the tank capacities tested came close to covering even a fifth of total boiler usage. The TES tank size with the shortest payback period varied depending on the type of outage scenario, though the three smallest, at 9MWh, 17MWh, and 35MWh, all had the shortest paybacks within a range of about a year from each other. The final analysis concludes that a TES tank would greatly benefit Bolungarvik’s DHS if integrated, and that the optimal size of tank has a maximum capacity around 35MWh.","abstract_html":"Even Iceland, which is known for its renewable energy and environmental efforts, is not immune to the current climate crisis or the issue of energy insecurity. The “cold regions”, such as the Westfjords, of Iceland are impacted the most since they lack access to geothermal resources for essential heating as well as robust energy infrastructure. Not only must they rely on electricity to meet both their heating and power demand, but these regions also experience frequent outages. The current backup systems supporting the energy demand in the Westfjords during outages are highly polluting diesel fueled generators and boilers. Finding a more reliable solution for heating and reducing emissions are time-sensitive priorities for these communities. This thesis investigates sustainable technology alternatives for a district heating system in a cold region of Iceland, using the town of Bolungarvik as a case study. The study explores options including e-fuels, heat pumps, and thermal energy storage (TES), ultimately determining that TES is the most suitable technology for this specific system and challenge. The evaluation is based on criteria such as cost, accessibility, ability to provide heat during power outages, and environmental impact. The research methodology includes a comprehensive assessment of the Bolungarvik’s heating demand, prediction of the outage scenarios, and optimization of the TES tank size. Additionally, the thesis outlines the design integration of the TES system into the existing infrastructure. The analysis concludes with calculations of fuel savings, CO_2 emission reductions, cost savings, and payback period for the new system. It found that for TES tank sizes varying from 9MWh capacity to 140MWh capacity, between 45-100% of standard predicted power outages could be covered, meaning 64-173 tons of CO_2 emissions from the diesel boilers could be avoided, and 3.4-9.1 Misk could be saved on the energy bill every year. For outage scenarios with greater frequency of outage occurrences and longer outage durations, even more savings are possible. But for an outage scenario including a long-term energy curtailment, none of the tank capacities tested came close to covering even a fifth of total boiler usage. The TES tank size with the shortest payback period varied depending on the type of outage scenario, though the three smallest, at 9MWh, 17MWh, and 35MWh, all had the shortest paybacks within a range of about a year from each other. The final analysis concludes that a TES tank would greatly benefit Bolungarvik’s DHS if integrated, and that the optimal size of tank has a maximum capacity around 35MWh.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Georgia Elizabeth Hanby 1998-"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Háskólinn í Reykjavík"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-06-18T12:04:24Z","date_published":"2024-06-18T12:04:24Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:39:26Z","subjects":["Orkuverkfræði","Meistaraprófsritgerðir","Upphitun húsa","Varmadælur","Sustainable energy engineering","Heating","Heat pumps","Energy storage"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1946/48017","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Háskólinn í Reykjavík"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Georgia Elizabeth Hanby 1998-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-06-18T12:04:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-06-18T12:04:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-06-18T12:04:24Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Orkuverkfræði","Meistaraprófsritgerðir","Upphitun húsa","Varmadælur","Sustainable energy engineering","Heating","Heat pumps","Energy storage"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1946/48017"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Even Iceland, which is known for its renewable energy and environmental efforts, is not immune to the current climate crisis or the issue of energy insecurity. The “cold regions”, such as the Westfjords, of Iceland are impacted the most since they lack access to geothermal resources for essential heating as well as robust energy infrastructure. Not only must they rely on electricity to meet both their heating and power demand, but these regions also experience frequent outages. The current backup systems supporting the energy demand in the Westfjords during outages are highly polluting diesel fueled generators and boilers. Finding a more reliable solution for heating and reducing emissions are time-sensitive priorities for these communities. This thesis investigates sustainable technology alternatives for a district heating system in a cold region of Iceland, using the town of Bolungarvik as a case study. The study explores options including e-fuels, heat pumps, and thermal energy storage (TES), ultimately determining that TES is the most suitable technology for this specific system and challenge. The evaluation is based on criteria such as cost, accessibility, ability to provide heat during power outages, and environmental impact. The research methodology includes a comprehensive assessment of the Bolungarvik’s heating demand, prediction of the outage scenarios, and optimization of the TES tank size. Additionally, the thesis outlines the design integration of the TES system into the existing infrastructure. The analysis concludes with calculations of fuel savings, CO_2 emission reductions, cost savings, and payback period for the new system. It found that for TES tank sizes varying from 9MWh capacity to 140MWh capacity, between 45-100% of standard predicted power outages could be covered, meaning 64-173 tons of CO_2 emissions from the diesel boilers could be avoided, and 3.4-9.1 Misk could be saved on the energy bill every year. For outage scenarios with greater frequency of outage occurrences and longer outage durations, even more savings are possible. But for an outage scenario including a long-term energy curtailment, none of the tank capacities tested came close to covering even a fifth of total boiler usage. The TES tank size with the shortest payback period varied depending on the type of outage scenario, though the three smallest, at 9MWh, 17MWh, and 35MWh, all had the shortest paybacks within a range of about a year from each other. The final analysis concludes that a TES tank would greatly benefit Bolungarvik’s DHS if integrated, and that the optimal size of tank has a maximum capacity around 35MWh.","Jafnvel Ísland, sem er þekkt fyrir endurnýjanlegu orkugjafana sýna og framlagi til umhverfismála, er ekki ónæmt fyrir þeirri loftslagskrýsu sem við stöndum frammi fyrir eða vandamálum tengt orkuöryggi. Sérstaklega þau „köldu svæði“, eins og vestfirðir, þar sem aðgangur að jarðhita til nauðsynlegrar upphitunar og öflugum orkuinnviðum er af skornum skammti. Ekki nóg með að þau reiða sig á raforku til að mæta hita- og orkuþörf, heldur upplifa þau reglulega rafmagnsleysi. Núverandi varaaflskerfi sem annar orkueftirspurn þegar rafmagn fer af bæjum á vestfjörðum eru mjög mengandi dísilknúnar rafstöðvar og katlar. Að finna áreiðanlegri lausn fyrir upphitun og draga úr kolefnislosun eru áríðandi forgangsmál fyrir slík svæði. Þessi ritgerð rannsakar sjálfbærari tæknikosti fyrir hitaveitukerfi á köldum svæðum á Íslandi þar sem bæjarfélagið Bolungarvík er tekið sem dæmi. Við rannsóknina eru skoðaðir valmöguleikar eins og rafeldsneyti (e-fuels), varmadælur (heat pumps) og varmaorkugeymslur eða TES (thermal energy storage) þar sem TES var endanlega valið sem hentugasti tæknikosturinn fyrir þetta tiltekna kerfi sem dæmið snéri að. Matið er byggt á forsendum eins og kostnaði, aðgengi, getu til að veita hita þegar rafmagn fer af og umhverfisáhrifum. Aðferðarfræði rannsóknarinnar felur í sér heildarmat á hitaþörf Bolungarvíkur, spá um væntanlegt rafmagnsleysi og val á hagkvæmri stærð TES tanka. Auk þess lýsir ritgerðin hvernig hægt væri að hanna og innleiða TES kerfi inn í núverandi innviði. Að lokum er gert grein fyrir útreikningum á eldsneytissparnaði, minnkun á kolefnislosunlosun, rekstrarsparnaði og hvað nýja kerfið er lengi að borga sig upp. Komist var að því að með TES tönkum frá 9MWh rýmd upp í 140MWh rýmd er hægt að ná yfir á bilinu 45-100% af væntanlegu rafmagnsleysi, sem þýðir að hægt er að koma í veg fyrir 64-173 tonn af árlegri kolefnislosun og hægt er að spara 3.4-9.1m.isk af orkukostnaði árlega. Sparnaðurinn verður enn meiri eftir því sem að tilfellum þar sem rafmagnið fer af fjölgar og rafmagnsleysið stendur lengur yfir. Hins vegar, ef um er að ræða langtíma orkuskerðingu (um 2 mánuði), kom enginn af þeim tankstærðum sem voru athugaðar nálægt því að dekka þó ekki nema einn fimmta af því sem að dísilkatlarnir gátu náð yfir. Hversu fljótt tankstærðirnar borguðu sig var breytilegt eftir aðstæðum en munurinn á stysta tímanum sem allar þrjár smæstu tankstærðinar borguðu sig niður á, þ.e.a.s 9MWh, 17MWh og 35MWh, var innan við ár. Loka niðurstaða rannsóknarinnar er að varmaorkugeymsla eða TES tankur myndi gagnast hitaveitukerfi Bolungarvíkur verulega yrði slíkt kerfi tekið til notkunar og að hámarks tankrýmd uppá 35MWh væri ákjósanlegasta stærðin."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Environmental and economic analysis of thermal energy storage for a district heating system in Bolungarvik"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Háskólinn í Reykjavík"],"dc:creator":["Georgia Elizabeth Hanby 1998-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-06-18T12:04:23Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-06-18T12:04:23Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-06-18T12:04:24Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Even Iceland, which is known for its renewable energy and environmental efforts, is not immune to the current climate crisis or the issue of energy insecurity. The “cold regions”, such as the Westfjords, of Iceland are impacted the most since they lack access to geothermal resources for essential heating as well as robust energy infrastructure. Not only must they rely on electricity to meet both their heating and power demand, but these regions also experience frequent outages. The current backup systems supporting the energy demand in the Westfjords during outages are highly polluting diesel fueled generators and boilers. Finding a more reliable solution for heating and reducing emissions are time-sensitive priorities for these communities. This thesis investigates sustainable technology alternatives for a district heating system in a cold region of Iceland, using the town of Bolungarvik as a case study. The study explores options including e-fuels, heat pumps, and thermal energy storage (TES), ultimately determining that TES is the most suitable technology for this specific system and challenge. The evaluation is based on criteria such as cost, accessibility, ability to provide heat during power outages, and environmental impact. The research methodology includes a comprehensive assessment of the Bolungarvik’s heating demand, prediction of the outage scenarios, and optimization of the TES tank size. Additionally, the thesis outlines the design integration of the TES system into the existing infrastructure. The analysis concludes with calculations of fuel savings, CO_2 emission reductions, cost savings, and payback period for the new system. It found that for TES tank sizes varying from 9MWh capacity to 140MWh capacity, between 45-100% of standard predicted power outages could be covered, meaning 64-173 tons of CO_2 emissions from the diesel boilers could be avoided, and 3.4-9.1 Misk could be saved on the energy bill every year. For outage scenarios with greater frequency of outage occurrences and longer outage durations, even more savings are possible. But for an outage scenario including a long-term energy curtailment, none of the tank capacities tested came close to covering even a fifth of total boiler usage. The TES tank size with the shortest payback period varied depending on the type of outage scenario, though the three smallest, at 9MWh, 17MWh, and 35MWh, all had the shortest paybacks within a range of about a year from each other. The final analysis concludes that a TES tank would greatly benefit Bolungarvik’s DHS if integrated, and that the optimal size of tank has a maximum capacity around 35MWh.","Jafnvel Ísland, sem er þekkt fyrir endurnýjanlegu orkugjafana sýna og framlagi til umhverfismála, er ekki ónæmt fyrir þeirri loftslagskrýsu sem við stöndum frammi fyrir eða vandamálum tengt orkuöryggi. Sérstaklega þau „köldu svæði“, eins og vestfirðir, þar sem aðgangur að jarðhita til nauðsynlegrar upphitunar og öflugum orkuinnviðum er af skornum skammti. Ekki nóg með að þau reiða sig á raforku til að mæta hita- og orkuþörf, heldur upplifa þau reglulega rafmagnsleysi. Núverandi varaaflskerfi sem annar orkueftirspurn þegar rafmagn fer af bæjum á vestfjörðum eru mjög mengandi dísilknúnar rafstöðvar og katlar. Að finna áreiðanlegri lausn fyrir upphitun og draga úr kolefnislosun eru áríðandi forgangsmál fyrir slík svæði. Þessi ritgerð rannsakar sjálfbærari tæknikosti fyrir hitaveitukerfi á köldum svæðum á Íslandi þar sem bæjarfélagið Bolungarvík er tekið sem dæmi. Við rannsóknina eru skoðaðir valmöguleikar eins og rafeldsneyti (e-fuels), varmadælur (heat pumps) og varmaorkugeymslur eða TES (thermal energy storage) þar sem TES var endanlega valið sem hentugasti tæknikosturinn fyrir þetta tiltekna kerfi sem dæmið snéri að. Matið er byggt á forsendum eins og kostnaði, aðgengi, getu til að veita hita þegar rafmagn fer af og umhverfisáhrifum. Aðferðarfræði rannsóknarinnar felur í sér heildarmat á hitaþörf Bolungarvíkur, spá um væntanlegt rafmagnsleysi og val á hagkvæmri stærð TES tanka. Auk þess lýsir ritgerðin hvernig hægt væri að hanna og innleiða TES kerfi inn í núverandi innviði. Að lokum er gert grein fyrir útreikningum á eldsneytissparnaði, minnkun á kolefnislosunlosun, rekstrarsparnaði og hvað nýja kerfið er lengi að borga sig upp. Komist var að því að með TES tönkum frá 9MWh rýmd upp í 140MWh rýmd er hægt að ná yfir á bilinu 45-100% af væntanlegu rafmagnsleysi, sem þýðir að hægt er að koma í veg fyrir 64-173 tonn af árlegri kolefnislosun og hægt er að spara 3.4-9.1m.isk af orkukostnaði árlega. Sparnaðurinn verður enn meiri eftir því sem að tilfellum þar sem rafmagnið fer af fjölgar og rafmagnsleysið stendur lengur yfir. Hins vegar, ef um er að ræða langtíma orkuskerðingu (um 2 mánuði), kom enginn af þeim tankstærðum sem voru athugaðar nálægt því að dekka þó ekki nema einn fimmta af því sem að dísilkatlarnir gátu náð yfir. Hversu fljótt tankstærðirnar borguðu sig var breytilegt eftir aðstæðum en munurinn á stysta tímanum sem allar þrjár smæstu tankstærðinar borguðu sig niður á, þ.e.a.s 9MWh, 17MWh og 35MWh, var innan við ár. Loka niðurstaða rannsóknarinnar er að varmaorkugeymsla eða TES tankur myndi gagnast hitaveitukerfi Bolungarvíkur verulega yrði slíkt kerfi tekið til notkunar og að hámarks tankrýmd uppá 35MWh væri ákjósanlegasta stærðin."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1946/48017"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:subject":["Orkuverkfræði","Meistaraprófsritgerðir","Upphitun húsa","Varmadælur","Sustainable energy engineering","Heating","Heat pumps","Energy storage"],"dc:title":["Environmental and economic analysis of thermal energy storage for a district heating system in Bolungarvik"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:39:26Z"}