- Aars District Heating, Kasper Neve
To optimise heat utilisation, Aars District Heating aims to renovate rather than repair. Replacing poorly performing pipes reduces the risk of bursts and can lower the network temperature. The challenge was to assess and prioritise where to act first, since the age of the pipes does not always predict their condition, which depends on varying and often unknown factors. Until now, the utility lacked the tools that help determine which pipes needed replacing and when.
“We can’t simply replace 50 km of pipes at once. Knowing where the performance is poorest compared to what it should be is the big challenge,” says Kasper Neve, Engineer at Aars District Heating.
The Heat Intelligence analytical tool combines data from the heat meters with facts about the pipes, including length, dimension and insulation to calculate temperatures, flow and deviations. The tool helped Aars dramatically reduce its number of bypasses, lower return temperatures by 1.5oC in some areas and reduce annual heat loss by 7.8 MWh per customer, in a low performing area.
- Aars District Heating, Kasper Neve