Engineering Timelines - low carbon Copenhagen : district heating and cooling

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Fact file : district heating

number of integrated systems in the city 4
number of distribution networks 21
people supplied 500,000
pipes 1,370km water / 130km steam
large bore transmission network 160km
main CHP plants 10
main hot water storage facilities 3
booster pumping stations 4
peak load plants 50
heat exchange substations 65
fibre optic control connections 8km
end user av. emission 100kg CO2/MWh
annual saving 665,000 tonnes CO2

District Heating in Copenhagen (pdf) : www.dbdh.dk/pdf

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District Heating and Cooling

in Copenhagen

Part of our Low Carbon Copenhagen project ... project index >

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Introduction

Although many European cities have district heating schemes, Copenhagen's is perhaps the most impressive. Its four main integrated systems supply 98% of the city — the equivalent of 50 million sq m of floor space. Now it's embracing district cooling, with the first such network in Denmark. District heating is integral to the country's energy policy and is accepted as a normal part of everyday life.

A district heating network supplies heat to end users in the form of hot water (or steam), in a closed system — its radiant heat is used to heat end user systems, after which it returns to be re-heated and sent around again. Insulated twin-bore pipes are laid in the streets along with other utilities. District cooling works similarly, supplying cold water for the cooling down of end user systems.

To get the most fuel economy and least environmental impact, district heating works best when it uses the enormous amounts of waste heat producted by industrial plants. Copenhagen's network is closely linked to its low carbon power generation installations. Its 10 main combined heat and power (CHP) stations supply most of the network, as well as generating electricity. Some of these are waste-to-energy plants — waste and biomass incineration provided one third of the heat supply in 2008.

In November 2009, the International Energy Agency announced the results of the first Global District Energy Climate Awards. Among the winners is Copenhagen's district heating system. You can download (pdf) the city's winning application document from www.copenhagenenergysummit.org/award.pdf. It contains a lot of useful information about the network and photos of installations.

The greater Copenhagen network is one of the largest district heating systems in the world. By using its CHP plants, the city has successfully reduced CO2 emissions associated with heat generation by 30-40% compared with equivalent use of individual oil or gas fired boilers ..... next >

introduction • combined heat + power • Copenhagen's network • sources
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images courtesy Rambøll
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