Sustainability Index to Assess the Environmental Impact of Heat Supply Systems

A sustainable heat supply is studied by defining indicators to evaluate local heat supply systems based on renewable energies compared to fossil energy reference scenarios. Besides the energy production, the evaluation considers the heat distribution network and long‐term storage. The indicators include ecological, economic, and social aspects. A set of sustainability indicators is used to compare different scenarios of local heat generation and distribution to a reference scenario based on fossil resources. While the main focus is on the environmental impact, the indicators also consider social and economic aspects. They build an assessment matrix that can serve as an instrument for planning and realization of local heat supply systems.