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Heat pumps take on district heating

Charlotte Søndergren, head of heat planning for Danish HOFOR, questions whether collective heating is the best long-term solution for all countries or whether smaller, individual heat pumps offer a better alternative in some areas.

As head of heat planning at the Danish utility HOFOR, Charlotte Søndergren helps provide heating for 600,000 inhabitants in the Copenhagen area. Nearly 100% of heating in the city is provided by piped district heating, a centralised approach to heat provision long established in Nordic and Baltic countries, which is now being copied by cities around the world looking for low carbon alternatives to a fuel combustion unit in every household. In conversation with FORESIGHT ahead of the Ninth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM9) and Nordic Clean Energy Week, Søndergren questions whether collective heating is the best long-term solution for all countries or whether smaller, individual heat pumps offer a better alternative in some areas.

How important is the heating and cooling sector in the energy transition?

Very. Heating consumers are much more flexible than power consumers since in the worst case scenario they can put on an extra sweater. Heating represents a large share of energy consumption, at least in Northern Europe, and we are able to take advantage of that as a provider of district heating. Our consumers can balance power and district heating grids by adjusting demand to supply. At Nordic Clean Energy Week we will showcase Energylab Nordhavn, a project aimed at testing the length of time for which we can turn off heat during peak demand without reducing the comfort of end users. By expanding these options and introducing large heat pumps for district heating we will be able to reduce peak demand and benefit from wind and solar power when prices are low.

Are collective heating solutions the future for all cities?

No, collective heating solutions will not win in the long run in all cities. As wind turbines and solar panels take over power production there will be less surplus energy. Also, transporting large amounts of hot water across towns may not be the best idea, especially in areas with long distances between consumers. Even though district heating is still competitive in dense cities like Copenhagen with large established grids and relatively low grid loss, it will definitely face competition from smaller individual power-based solutions like heat pumps.

Why are smaller individual heat pumps becoming more popular?

The advantage of small individual heat pumps, as opposed to large heat pumps for district heating, is that they are highly energy efficient and grid loss in the power system is very low compared to district heating. Moreover, individual heat pumps can in a more direct sense balance power grids as they are directly connected to power systems. Today smaller individual heat pumps are more expensive than district heating and installations can seem a bit clumsy. But I’m sure we will see new designs that will make them smaller, cheaper and more attractive for the consumer in the future.

What should ministers be discussing at CEM9 in terms of the heating and cooling sector?

They need to set a direction and decide on the road towards a future free of fossil fuels. We all agree that we need to develop and invest in solutions that make demand for heating and cooling more flexible, but we also need to decide how we introduce and use new technologies. To attract investment in technology development and better design solutions, we need to agree on a direction since the decisions of today will influence the energy markets for the next 30 years.

Cities around the world are copying the Danish district heating solution, is that the right approach?

District heating is not the right solution for every city. Whether or not it is a viable solution depends mainly on three factors: the density of the city; whether or not it has an existing district heating grid; and what stage it has reached in the green transition. In cities with strong power grids that are mainly supplied by wind and solar power, it would probably not be the most cost or energy efficient solution to develop a new district heating grid from scratch.

TEXT: Anna Hedegaard

This article is part of the Nordic Clean Energy Series published by FORESIGHT Climate & Energy to support Nordic Clean Energy Week. A week where energy leaders from around the globe gather in Copenhagen and Malmö to discuss the policies, business and technological solutions and challenges involved in tackling climate change.

Learn more about the week - Nordic Clean Energy Week

Take a look at FORESIGHT’s Nordic Clean Energy Special Edition
published in May 2018.