Distriktssvarme

Distriktssvarme, or district heating, is a system for delivering heat from a centralized source to buildings through an insulated network of pipes. The heat is produced at a central plant, which may be a combined heat and power (CHP) facility, a heat-only boiler, or a facility that uses surplus heat from industry or renewable sources. Hot water is circulated through the network and is transferred to each building's heating system via substations. Building owners are billed for the amount of heat consumed.

District heating networks are designed to be flexible in terms of heat sources and can combine several fuels and technologies. Common sources include biomass, waste-to-energy, fossil fuels in some plants, and geothermal or sourced electricity via heat pumps. The system can be sized to match demand, and some networks implement metering and temperature controls to improve efficiency.

Benefits of district heating include higher energy efficiency, the potential to use renewable or waste heat, and reduced local emissions compared with individual boilers. It can simplify heating for customers and enable larger-scale optimization. Challenges include high upfront infrastructure costs for pipes and plants, heat losses within networks, and regulatory or tariff structures. Reliability and long-term planning are important for maintaining supply.

District heating has a long history in Northern and Central Europe, with extensive networks in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, as well as growing adoption in other countries. It is seen as a tool for improving energy efficiency and integrating renewable energy into heating systems.