Advanced mapping of your heat loss
Together with our customers, Kamstrup has created a tool connecting information from the meters with facts about the utility’s pipe network. Its calculations are therefore highly specific and relevant as the basis for infrastructure optimisation, both in terms of reducing losses and prioritising investments in network maintenance and capacity.
Network losses are perhaps the biggest cost driver for district heating utilities so the potential in eliminating them is enormous. Combining temperature and flow measurements from energy meters with information about the length and size of the pipes allows them to calculate temperatures in all parts of the network and accurately map their heat loss.
If a building’s forward temperature is lower than expected, this can indicate poor performing pipe insulation, a defect service pipe or incorrect meter installation causing lost revenue. If higher than expected, it can denote a leakage or perhaps an unknown or misadjusted bypass creating circulation that keeps the network temperature up. Whatever the reason, knowing the actual state of the network is the prerequisite for being able to act.
Network load monitoring
As more and more buildings are connected to the district heating network, utilities must constantly consider its capacity. Because building and expanding infrastructure is economically heavy, logistically comprehensive and time-consuming, there is great value in maximising utilisation of the current capacity. This enables utilities to prioritise and postpone infrastructure investments. Also, knowing their exact capacity helps them minimise the risk of oversizing new pipes.
By linking energy meter flow measurements in a specific area with detailed pipe characteristics, utilities get a precise picture of the load throughout the network. This verifies whether there is a match between a utility’s assumptions and reality plus it provides important knowledge for future expansion of its supply area – and facts are easier to convert into Euros than gut feelings.