9. June 2023

Digitalisation of the Danish District Heating Sector

Get inspired by 18 cases of digitalisation and data-driven operations from Denmark's district heating sector.

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With a transformation of the energy system, Denmark is heading away from fossil fuels and towards using renewable energy and excess heat as an integrated part of the energy mix.

One of the means to achieve this transition is the extensive use of data that is increasingly provided by the district energy companies across the value chain and in the processes that constitute the basis of efficient district energy operation.

In recent years, the Danish District Heating Association has been focusing mainly on the digitalisation increasingly used by Danish 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 is well on the way with the digital 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.

There are plenty of examples of how this is done in practice, and this case catalogue aims to present some of them.

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Use of decision support tool to optimise electricity and heat production

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TREFOR: Temperature optimisation through cloud solution

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TREFOR Varme is obligated to operate the district heating system in the best possible way. This requires automated tools that can contribute to operations optimisation, including temperature optimisation, in which integration between production environment and external suppliers is a necessity. Thro

District Heating Flexumers in Copenhagen

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Together with HOFOR and Københavns Ejendomme og Indkøb (KEID), Danfoss is exploring the potential for optimising the CO2-neutral baseload production in Copenhagen by utilising AI-based heat control from its Leonheat AI system. The first part of the demonstration took place in the 2021- 2022 heating

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Use of Online Data for Condition Based Renovation. Approximately one in four homes in the supply area around Løkken, Denmark is a holiday home, and this share is increasing. This places high demands on keeping the pipelines warm as opposed to all-year houses with a constant baseload. Moreover, renta

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Data-Driven Operations and Renovation. Until recently, Aars Fjernvarme primarily used data for invoicing, but it seemed obvious to use the data collected on supply and return temperatures and flow to be able to look more closely at the condition of the distribution system – all the way to the end-u

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Industrial customers see the value of digitalising district heating

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Generating Value with Pipeline Data. Besides administration and running Ølgod Fjernvarmeselskab, located in the western part of Jutland, Denmark, employees at the company also administer and run the water plant Ølgod Vandværk, as well as a number of smaller, local waterworks. The smaller waterworks

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A heavy workload in connection with financial reporting and data processing spurred Assens Fjernvarme, located in the Western part of the Danish island of Fyn, to look for a tool to make administrative work processes more efficient and provide a better overview of the district heating company’

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Støvring Kraftvarmeværk wanted to save time and reduce costs by optimising the meter-reading process. Prior to the project, Støvring Kraftvarmeværk used the ‘postcard’ method to collect consumption data from heat meters. Furthermore, the district heating plant was losing up to 15 m3 of water every d

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NFS Varme in Nyborg has replaced manual data processing and reporting with a digital solution in the form of a SCADA database. The database collects key figures for the utility company and the figures are then used to draw up accounting and operations reports. The solution has not necessarily lighte

Monitoring, Troubleshooting and Maintaining Heating Plants

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The green transition of district heating is inextricably linked with lower temperatures in the district heating network. The efficiency of heat pumps depends to a high degree on return temperatures, and there are significant gains from lowering the temperature through effective flue gas condensation

Middelfart Fjernvarme: Fully Digitalised Registration

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Middelfart Fjernvarme: Fully Digitalised Registration

Up to 6,000 conversions to district heating in the coming years pose an enormous administrative task for Middelfart Fjernvarme. The district heating company located on the edge of the island of Fyn, has therefore decided to digitalise the registration process to avoid the high amount of manual proce

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With a top-of-the-line production facility, Brønderslev Fjernvarme wanted to optimise how it utilises the facility by collecting and using data from customers, the distribution system and weather forecasts. The district heating company located at the northern top of Jutland, was part of the research

TVIS: Strong Focus on The Welding Process for Joints and Documentation

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TVIS: Strong Focus on The Welding Process for Joints and Documentation

TVIS, the district heating company located on the east coast of Jutland, wanted to check, manage and digitalise its monitoring of weldings in its pipe system before the pipes are covered to ensure that the weld joint has been installed correctly. The company also wanted to file documentation of corr

Sønderborg Varme: Digitalised Biomass Procurement

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Sønderborg Varme: Digitalised Biomass Procurement

It can be hard to determine prices when establishing a contract on the supply of biomass for district heating. It is also hard to be sure all potential suppliers can bid for the contract. These issues have been under careful consideration for Sønderborg Varme, a district heating company from the sou

BEOF: Intelligent Monitoring and Control

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The future of district heating is digital and data-driven. This is the basis of the Flexibility Heat Grid Bornholm project, which involves 42 households in the small village of Listed, on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The island’s utility company, Bornholm Energi & Forsy