HotMaps

Europe's open-source tool for strategic heating and cooling

About

Energy Cities staff involved
Funding program

Horizon 2020

Coordinators

Vienna University of Technology
Energy Economics Group

Partners
Aalborg University, e-think – energy systems for the future (Zentrum für Energiewirtschaft und Umwelt), EURAC - Institute for Renewable Energy, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO)-eEnergy center, PlanEnergi, Aalborg Kommune, , , Fomento de San Sebastian, Kerry County Council, , ,
Website

www.hotmaps-project.eu

HotMaps aims at designing a toolbox to support public authorities, energy agencies and urban planners in strategic heating and cooling planning on local, regional and national levels, and in line with EU policies. 
In addition to guidelines and handbooks on how to carry out strategic heating and cooling (H&C) planning, HotMaps will provide the first H&C planning software that is:

  • User-driven: developed in close collaboration with 7 European pilot areas
  • Open source: the developed tool and all related modules will run without requiring any other commercial tool or software. No restrictions in use and access to the source code.
  • EU-28 compatible: the tool will be applicable for cities in all 28 EU Member States

The Hot Maps software tool will be developed in close cooperation with the target group, i.e. urban planners and strategic decision-makers as well as with members from the open source community. The pilot areas of Aalborg, Bistrita, Frankfurt, Geneva, Milton Keynes, Kerry County and San Sebastian will co-design, test and validate in order to guarantee for a user-friendly software entirely based on user needs.

Capacity-building is an important part of the project: several workshops will be organised in order to train local authorities on the use of the models and tools, allowing energy planners to:

  • Map the heating and cooling energy situation including renewable and waste heat potentials in GIS layers in virtually any EU region up to a 250x250m level;
  • Model the energy system, considering hourly matching of supply and demand, demand response etc. on local, regional and national level;
  • Simulate supply and demand options of long-term scenarios until 2050 regarding e. g. CO2-emissions, energy costs, demographic changes, share of renewables.

What is Energy Cities doing in Hot Maps?

Energy Cities promotes the project and disseminates its results to other local authorities as well as the national level in other EU countries, in order to ensure favourable conditions for the take up of the Hot Maps software. 
Energy Cities is also contributing to the bottom up development of the Hot Maps tool by ensuring that is is continuously taking into account the needs of local authorities in Europe. Energy Cities will contribute and organise capacity building for energy planners and decision makers working at local and national level in Europe.