DIGITALISATION OF THE DANISH DISTRICT HEATING SECTOR
CASE CATALOGUE 2023
About the catalogue
Why digitalisation?
BY DANISH DISTRICT HEATING ASSOCIATION (DDHA)
Digitalisation makes financial sense District heating companies can utilise data from remotely read heat metres for temperature optimisation, thereby reducing both network losses and consumer prices by 5-10 percent. Companies can also minimise the investment re- quired to convert gas customers to district heating, because the use of remotely read data can provide a 5-10 percent better utilisation of the existing distribution system and installations. Today, more than 60 percent of district heating companies in Denmark use hourly or daily data from settlement metres in their operations, even though they are only required to read metres once a month. Most district heating companies can share this high resolution data with their customers without additional costs.
In recent years, the Danish District Heating Association (DDHA) has been focusing particularly on the digitalisation increasingly used by district heating companies. Through workshops and surveys of its members' digitalisation and use of data, DDHA can conclude that more than two-thirds of the industry are well on the way with the transition. The aim of the projects is typically to utilise remotely read heat meters – not just for invoicing, but also to optimise operations and administration for better customer service.
Potential savings just from temperature optimisation in all Danish district heating networks are estimated at € 90 - 110 million annually. The Future District Heating in the Greater Copenhagen Area in year 2050 (FFH50) report assesses the value of low-temperature district heating to be € 33,5 million annually. There are also benefits from optimising buildings' energy consumption and interaction with the district heating sys- tem as well as more efficient administration.
Data-driven operations can: • Accelerate the green transition and sector coupling through effective integration of renewable energy and PtX • Utilise existing production and distribution capacity in connection with conversions from gas • Reduce heat loss and required pump performance in distribution networks • Integrate the heat capacity of buildings to reduce the need for peak load during morning hours • Perform condition-based maintenance • Free up administrative resources for increased custom- er service • Contribute to innovation and development of new digital services With this catalogue of inspiration, the aim is to present the current status of the industry in Denmark. The catalogue also aims to contribute to the development of a joint utilities data programme across electricity, water, heating, waste- water, etc. Not only in Denmark, but also inspire globally and drive digitalisation and use of data and digital solutions from Denmark across the borders. This will bring data from district heating into play in the best possible way in terms of the green transition and sector coupling in the Danish energy sector in general.
There are plenty of examples of how this is done in practice, and this catalogue of inspiration presents some of them.
Big potential for savings A conservative estimate is that increased use of data for the district heating sector has a saving potential of approximately € 134 million annually.
At DDHA, we believe that, within just a few years, more than 70 percent of our members will procure and utilise high resolution data. This means that district heating companies can contribute significantly to the green transition, not least by converting natural gas customers to district heating.
Sharing consumption data across utilities sectors In recent years, the desire for access to consumption data has increased significantly, both for customers with large buildings with high energy consumption – e.g. the central government, municipalities, housing associations and the business sector – and for companies offering energy optimi- sation for this type of building.
DDHA is ready to make data available for innovation and development of new effective solutions, and this is con- firmed in some of the cases in this catalogue. Many district heating companies have already entered into agreements on sharing data and participating in development projects. However, there is a requirement for solutions that protect citizen data and business data as well as digital systems against cyber attacks. In 2022, the Danish government presented a new digital strategy to help increase digitalisation in Denmark. Among other things, the new strategy focuses on the green transi- tion and cyber security. The new digital strategy will establish a utilities data pro- gram to drive developments towards a cohesive green util- ities sector that better utilises resources and infrastructure across value chains and different utilities. The strategy has been allocated approximately € 2 million from 2023 to 2026, a total of approximately € 8 million.
The approach DDHA includes members' experience and opinions regarding digitalisation, data-driven operations and sharing of data across sectors when dealing with authorities and other industry associations.
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