Sustainable biomass-based central heating system in affordable housing assessment based on technical, economic, and environmental analysis

This study aims to assess the feasibility of using a biomass-based central heating system in residential buildings with characteristics relevant to affordable housing. Given the increasing energy costs, the dependence of buildings on fossil fuels, and the need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to provide a solution that is both economically viable and has fewer environmental effects. The main issue of the study is the simultaneous assessment of the technical, economic, and environmental performance of heating systems, a topic that has not been studied in an integrated manner in previous studies. Thus, the study examines whether a biomass-based central heating system with thermal storage can be an appropriate alternative to conventional gas-fired systems in residential buildings relevant to affordable housing. For this aim, three heating scenarios were simulated using EnergyPlus, TRNSYS, and MATLAB/Simulink software and compared in terms of energy consumption, life cycle cost, heating cost, and carbon dioxide emissions. The consequences showed that the biomass-based system, although needing a higher initial investment, has the lowest life cycle cost and the lowest greenhouse gas emissions in the long term. Also, the combined biomass and natural gas system is considered a suitable option for housing projects by creating a balance between initial cost, reliability, and return on investment. The research findings show that the use of biomass and thermal storage can be an effective step in developing sustainable heating systems and reducing dependency on fossil fuels. The innovation of this study lies in the system-level comparative evaluation of biomass-based central heating configurations with thermal storage in technical, economic and environmental dimensions under compatible building and climatic conditions.