.. _heat:

Heat
==========
A number centralized district heating technologies based on fossil and renewable energy sources are represented in MESSAGE (see :numref:`tab-heat`). Similar to coupled heat and power (CHP) technologies that are described in the :ref:`electricity` sector, these heating plants feed low temperature heat into the district heating system that is then used in the end-use sectors. In addition, there are (decentralized) heat generation options in the :ref:`industrial` and :ref:`resid_commerc`.

.. _tab-heat:
.. table:: List of centralized heat generation technologies represented in MESSAGE by energy source.

   +---------------+---------------------------------------+
   | Energy Source | Technology                            |
   +===============+=======================================+
   | coal          | coal district heating plant           |
   +---------------+---------------------------------------+
   | oil           | light fuel oil district heating plant |
   +---------------+---------------------------------------+
   | gas           | gas district heating plant            |
   +---------------+---------------------------------------+
   | biomass       | solid biomass district heating plant  |
   +---------------+---------------------------------------+
   | geothermal    | geothermal district heating plant     |
   +---------------+---------------------------------------+