Towards a renewable-energy-driven district heating system: key technology, system design and integrated planning

District heating is thought as an important part of future energy system because of the easier accessibility to renewables and waste heat sources. Despite facing the problems such as rapid efficiency improvement in individual heating and energy-saving activities, the overall energy efficiency of district heating is higher than individual heating. With a comprehensive review on the recent development of district heating systems, this chapter introduces the key technologies, system design and integrated urban planning toward a future district heating system, particularly emphasizes the measures for multiscale demand-side management to enhance the performance of district heating system. In addition, the authors’ practice of district-heating-oriented integrated urban planning in Japan are also introduced as the reference for transiting towards renewable-energy-driven district heating.