Walk the Talk - District heating and cooling

Turning words into action – walking the talk – is required in our work and commitment to questions of sustainability. At Linköping University we take these words extremely seriously, with our measures to ensure sustainability and efficient energy use.

We have chosen to showcase this work in an exhibition of the same name – Walk the Talk – at both Campus Valla and Campus Norrköping.

The exhibition is public, free of charge, and accessible all year round. Follow the exhibition pathway by following the points marked on the map at each campus.

Map over the exhibition Walk the talk - station District heating and cooling, Campus Valla.Map over the exhibition Walk the talk - station District heating and cooling, Campus Valla. Photo credit LiU-Tryck

Map with coordinates

District heating and cooling

Climate-smart district heating

Location: Campus Valla, A Building, Entrance 19

Bild tagen för utställningen Walk the Talk.Display of district heating connection at Campus Valla, A Building, Entrance 19. Photo credit Magnus JohanssonAll consumption produces waste, and energy recovery is one way of recycling waste. Using waste as fuel in a combined heat and power plant provides recovered energy to heat our buildings and supply our electricity. This is a clever way to use the Earth’s resources carefully.

Isn’t it a better idea to sort the waste at source?

The waste that is burned is truly rubbish. It is waste that it is no longer possible to recycle or from which it is no longer possible to reuse the materials. It may be waste that for some other reason has not been sorted. Different materials can be recycled different numbers of times, and when a material can no longer be recycled, the best alternative is to use it as an energy source, rather than depositing it in a landfill site.

Statistics show, furthermore, that countries in which energy recovery is highly developed also have advanced systems for recycling material.

Why do we import waste?

We are good at recycling waste in Sweden, and less than 1% is deposited into landfill sites (rubbish dumps). Some countries have not come as far as we have, and they can purchase our environmental services when we have the necessary capacity. In this way, we contribute not only to reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill sites but also the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from these sites.

Furthermore, in Sweden we create waste in other countries without even noticing it. When we purchase items from other countries, it causes waste production and emissions where the items are manufactured. So maybe we have a responsibility to improve the global situation.

Energy-smart district cooling

Location: Campus Valla, District cooling facility outside the C Building

District cooling is both a climate-smart and energy-smart way to create a pleasant indoor temperature in, for example, offices and server halls. Excess heat is used, and converted to cooling, and this takes place without needing to use environmentally hazardous cooling agents, while consuming less electricity than traditional cooling devices.

How does it work?

District cooling is based on the same smart idea as district heating – it is more efficient and better for the climate to use a central climate facility, instead of many small cooling units.

The technology is simple. Water is cooled in the facilities of the energy producer with the aid of cooling equipment, and then distributed through a network to each property that is connected. Here, a district cooling centre controls the transfer of cooling to the property through a heat exchanger. The cold water is pumped out from the heat exchanger and distributed to cooling units in the property.

Bild tagen för utställningen Walk the Talk.The station District cooling at Campus Valla, Linköpings University. Photo credit Anna Nilsen

Tekniska verken in Linköping

Do you want to know more? 

Contact Tekniska verken in Linköping by telephone +46 13 208000 or e-mail: fjarrvarme@tekniskaverken.se.

Research area - Energy Systems

Walk the Talk