Danfoss is one of the leading players in district energy solutions that will present their know-how and future smart technologies at the Nordic Efficiency event in Paris next week. The company claims that their solutions help increase energy efficiency in cities and have huge potential.

It is common knowledge that more than half of the energy used daily for generating electricity vanishes into the air. It is this scarcely credible waste that has spurred the development of district heating and cooling systems which are capable of utilising surplus energy to heat or cool people’s homes and to supply domestic hot water.

Scandinavia is the global reference point for efficient energy as their district energy systems utilising surplus heat from power plants, waste incineration plants, excess heat from industry and other available sources have been widely used for decades. These pioneering heating networks have been proven to increase energy efficiency and bring down overall energy consumption. Improving upon their precursors, the next generation district energy systems have emerged as an attractive solution not only in northern climates, but also in milder regions where the demand for cooling is growing as people seek improved indoor comfort.

Consequently, Danfoss and other Scandinavian industry leaders will present their latest concepts and new technology for next generation district energy solutions at the Nordic Efficiency event in Paris from October 13 to 15. The Paris event is part of the World Efficiency Conference taking place in the lead up to COP21 in December.

Jan Eric Thorsen, a representative of the Danfoss Heating Segment Application Centre, commented on his company’s participation, saying “Today, only about 13 % of the heat demand in Europe is covered by district energy. When we consider that about 75 percent of the European population lives in dense urban areas ideally suited for district heating and cooling, the potential of increasing the use of district energy is huge. That is why we promote district energy as one of the most effective paths to live up to the energy efficiency target set up by EU Commission in the 2050 Energy Strategy”

• One of the major barriers to expanding district energy systems is the all too common assumption that it is an expensive solution. Contrary to this preconception, it has been shown that compared to traditional boiler solutions the price of the initial investment cost per consumer is highly competitive. If we consider the cost over the entire life cycle, Scandinavian experiences show us that district energy by far outperforms boilers, electric heating and other solutions in urban areas.The next generation solutions are set to present a lot of new opportunities for even higher district energy performance, with Jan Eric Thorsen adding “The potential of two-way systems looks very promising. This means that industries, supermarkets and other major energy consumers in the local communities become part of the district energy solution. They can pull out energy when they need it and then retrieve excess energy from their processes when available, creating an attractive win-win for utilities and private partners. At the same time we are developing smart control technologies that take into account weather forecasts and consumer behavior in order to get the most out of the available energy at any time. The future smart energy system is about flexibility across the energy carriers. Only when we master the inter-connection of the energy systems will we be able to harvest the synergies.”
  
  Some of the other important facts about next generation district energy systems:

• District energy systems are generally composed of a network of pipes which connect the buildings in a neighbourhood or a whole city. Citizens are then supplied with water-borne heating/cooling from a centralized or decentralized system which is fuelled by energy surplus from power production, waste incineration and industries – or, alternatively, by renewable energy sources of any kind – solar, biomass and geothermal heat.

• Next generation district energy systems are smart energy systems which combine smart electricity, thermal and gas grids in a bid to optimize energy production and consumption to achieve the highest degree of energy efficiency, energy flexibility and energy security.

• Next generation district energy systems also generally operate at lower temperatures compared to previous systems, they are also capable of interacting with low-energy buildings and they are connected in smart systems with low grid losses.

The Scandinavian industry leaders are developing the next generation of district heating systems and products with high connectivity so that they will be able to exchange data for optimum system operation, high efficiency of heat exchangers and increased user interaction.