District energy systems are highly efficient solutions to heating and cooling multiple buildings from a central plant. They include networks of steam or hot and chilled water pipes, typically buried underground, that distribute energy to efficiently heat and cool buildings, using less energy than buildings with individual boilers and chillers. They are scalable from a small cluster of buildings to municipal wide solutions.
In North America, district energy systems are operating in high development density sites, such as college campuses, downtown districts, medical centers, airports, and military bases.