Work

Analysis of different demand response strategies for a Finnish apartment building utilizing waste heat from hydrogen production

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The increasing demand for sustainable energy solutions encourages the incorporation of more renewable energies in energy systems. Among these, district heating systems, widely implemented across northern and central Europe, offer great potential in integrating renewable energies. As hydrogen production expands, the excess heat generated during this process presents a promising opportunity for recovery and utilization in district heating. Since demand response has proven valuable in the share of renewables, this study analyzed the building-level benefits of demand response control strategies based on dynamic district heat prices integrated with waste heat from hydrogen production. Three demand response control strategies were developed, which controlled the inlet water temperatures of water radiators, indoor air temperatures, and charging actions of a DHW storage tank, separately. The results illustrate their economic potential on a Finnish district-heated apartment building. The advantage of centralized demand response control is that it does not increase peak heating demand. The results demonstrate that the decentralized demand response control has the highest annual district heat energy cost saving, up to 4.9 %. The dynamic storage tank charging control cuts the peak heat power significantly, with a great reduction of the power fee by a maximum of 22.6% power fee reduction with a 5.2 m 3 tank. In addition, the results in the pay-back period analysis provide recommended maximum investment under different control strategies and target pay-back years. • Hydrogen production waste heat was employed in district heating • Three demand response control strategies were analyzed • The impact of two power fee tariffs was investigated • There are up to 4.9% of energy cost saving and 22.6% of power fee reduction • Possible maximum investment costs under different payback periods were calculated

Source: Energy

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2026.140439

Authors: Yuchen Ju, Perttu Karjalainen, Juha Jokisalo, Risto Kosonen, Altti Meriläinen, Antti Kosonen

Institutions: Aalto University, Granlund (Finland), Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Integrated Energy Systems Optimization

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Climate action, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Responsible consumption and production, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,260