Thisted Varmeforsyning supplies heating to more than 5,000 consumers and is considered one of the most modern utility companies with regard to new technology.
This district heating plant follows an ambitious strategy of intelligent energy control, aiming to increase energy efficiency and keep operating costs down. That is why Thisted Varmeforsyning chose to invest in an innovative solution with 5,000 MULTICAL® 601/602 remotely read heat meters in a radio network. A large portion
of the meters has leak monitoring and an automatic leak protection system. Thisted Varmeforsyning introduced the combined Kamstrup-DanTaet solution specifically to upgrade leak protection.
Thisted Varmeforsyning has gained a large number of operational advantages with the Kamstrup-DanTaet system. An alarm signal is automatically sent to the utility company if there is a leak or pipe burst, and the system shuts down the installation immediately. The monitoring system also
enables Thisted Varmeforsyning to reduce the make-up water for district heating and indicates whether untreated water has been added. The leak protection system benefits the local water environment, consumer safety and profits for the district heating plant since it makes routines more efficient and keeps operating costs down.
This improvement in system reliability means that most insurance companies offer consumers a significant discount on their burst pipe insurance if the policyholder has a Kamstrup-DanTaet installation.
“This system is one element in our automation strategy, and key to reinforcing Thisted Varmeforsyning's position as a high-quality service provider.”
Lars Andersen, Department Manager, Thisted Heat Utility
Maximising the energy efficiency is a serious challenge, but a prerequisite for high-efficiency heat energy supplies. If the difference between inlet and outlet temperature (delta T) is improved by just 1°C throughout the heat supply system in Thisted, it will save a total of DKK 750,000 annually. In order to improve energy efficiency, Thisted Varmeforsyning therefore decided to phase out all heat exchangers and
replace them with a direct heating supply, and at the same time offering customers the extra security of leak protection.
Heat exchangers are not particularly energy efficient. In fact, a heat exchanger typically causes a heat loss of 5 – 7°C, because it is manually controlled and often incorrectly set by the customer. Energy efficiency is then too low, because the return water is too hot.
Lars Andersen
Solution:
Time frame: 2009-2014
