Environmental and Economic Benefit Analysis of an Integrated Heating System with Geothermal Energy—A Case Study in Xi’an China

Due to the increase in environmental problems and air pollution during the heating period, it is important to promote clean heating in cold regions, thereby meeting the heating demand in a green manner. In order to allocate resources more effectively and facilitate the consumption of renewable energy, this paper designs an integrated heating system that incorporates geothermal energy into the framework of an integrated energy system of electricity, heating, and gas. An analysis of the environmental and economic benefits indicates that the system reduces pollutant emissions and decreases the cost of urban heating. Using an example of central heating of residential buildings in Xi’an, the paper conducts a scenario analysis based on the gas peak-shaving ratio and the ratio of geothermal heating loads to basic heating loads. The results demonstrate that the environmental and economic benefits of the integrated heating system are higher compared to central heating using coal-fired boilers. In addition, this paper conducts a sensitivity analysis of the heat source to the price factors and the load ratios. The results show that the operating costs of the integrated heating system are most sensitive to the natural gas price and the gas peak-shaving ratio. Therefore, an optimum natural gas peak-shaving ratio can be determined.