Guidelines on community-led heating and cooling

Your CH&Cs first technical analysis

To get your energy community started in heating and cooling decarbonisation you need to have a certain technical direction. It is therefore necessary to make a first technical analysis of the area. Ask yourself: are there enough heat sources, are maybe individual solutions a better option for the houses, what is the right technology or combination of technologies to heat and cool the homes in the neighbourhood in relation to affordability for the consumer? These are all relevant questions.

Keep in mind that you might not be the first one to do such an analysis of your area, so try to find other stakeholders that are willing to share knowledge. For instance, EU municipalities with more than 45.000 inhabitants have an obligation to carry out a “heating and cooling plan” (Energy Efficiency Directive 2023). Get in touch with your municipality so that citizens and municipality can help each other in carrying out these plans.