Page 9 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2018 publication

Summer 2018 European Energy Innovation
The business case for
digitalised district heating
By Steen Schelle Jensen, Head of Product Management, Kamstrup
The decarbonisation of
heating systems is no longer
a question of ‘if’ but rather
‘how soon’. With increasing
focus from all industry levels
on the potential in district
heating as the vehicle to make
it happen, it is crucial to use
current positive developments
as stepping stones to making
the digitalisation of district
heating a reality.
One of the key measures supporting
decarbonisation is the ongoing
negotiations on the Clean Energy
Package in which specifically
the Renewable Energy Directive
(RED) aims to increase the share
of renewable and surplus energy
in district heating. Smart grids
are a fundamental enabler of this
integration.
In this respect, another very
important – and closely linked –
directive is the Energy Efficiency
Directive (EED), which focuses
on providing end users with the
knowledge and transparency
they need to enable more energy
efficient behaviour. One direct output
of this is the updated Article 9
stating that district heating utilities
must supply their customers with
information about their actual energy
consumption 12 times a year.
A precondition for utilities to be
able to meet this obligation is the
installation of remotely read heat
meters to supply the necessary data.
However, greater insight and feedback
for end users is only the beginning.
Once intelligent meters have been
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9
COMMUNICATION
installed in the network, they will
open up to a whole new world of
digitalisation possibilities for the
entire energy system.
FROM POTENTIAL TO REAL VALUE
Using the installation of intelligent
heat meters to pave the way for going
even further and getting meter data
perhaps every hour rather than once
a month holds enormous potential
for the utilities as well.
Together with the Danish District
Heating Association, Kamstrup set out
to uncover the actual value of that
potential. As a result, analysis company This is because in order for utilities
Ennova recently conducted a study
based on in-depth interviews with 10
Danish utilities about their experiences into knowledge on which to base
with remote reading of meters.
The study showed potential savings
within the areas of infrastructure
investments, administration, customer
service, operational efficiency as well
as energy consumption. In total, they
amounted to an efficiency potential
of 30 times the cost of investing in
making the reading of meters more
intelligent and frequent, which has
been estimated at EUR 8 per year
per connected customer. Thus, the
business case was clearly established.
TALK IS CHEAP. INNOVATION IS NOT.
As a long-time advocate for the
undeniable value of data, Kamstrup
has a strong and strategic focus on
innovation. As a result, 25% of our
workforce work in product development
including 20 employees dedicated to
working exclusively on data analytics.
to unlock that value they need the
right tools to turn their meter data
both their everyday decisions as
well as long-term investments. The
possibilities in digitalised district
heating are endless, but now is
the time to take the next step of
delivering real results.
kamstrup.com l