Page 23 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2019 publication
P. 23
Summer 2019 European Energy Innovation 23
COMMUNICATION
Sustainability and digitalisation
go hand in hand
By Steen Schelle Jensen, Head of Product Management, Kamstrup
The obligation for EU holistic digitalisation approach to ENHANCING END-USER
countries to implement its entire value chain. Three overall INVOLVEMENT
remotely read heat meters is areas stand out: daily operations, District heating is sometimes
a prerequisite for providing asset management and end-user perceived as old-fashioned,
consumers with the necessary involvement. monopolistic and fossil-fuelled.
insight to encourage more Ironically, this misconception stems
energy efficient behaviour. IMPROVING DAILY OPERATIONS from the very basis for its great
But it is also a critical Smart metering provides the basis convenience and efficiency: one
element in developing the for utilities to make fact-based system for all that is reliable to the
position of district heating as decisions related to the daily extent of being virtually invisible.
a key technology to support operations surrounding their core Consequently, access to consumption
decarbonisation and a tasks of producing and distributing data alone is unlikely to trigger
sustainable energy future. district heating. significant behavioural changes.
Ambitious EU strategy and legislation These include optimising the Digitalisation can help utilities make
is paving the way for more district production and forward temperature district heating more attractive
heating and an increased share of to run closer to the limit, detecting to consumers. This could include
renewable energy. The two are closely heat and water loss in the distribution offering targeted services such as
linked, because district heating network as well as identifying billing based on flexibility, or taking
provides the necessary flexibility to improvement opportunities for responsibility for the heat installation,
integrate, utilise and store fluctuating building performance and consumer but also emphasising how it e.g.
energy from renewables ultimately behaviour decreasing the overall utilises waste heat from local
increasing the efficiency of the entire system efficiency. This is all also supermarkets to heat up houses
energy system and decarbonising crucial to achieving the right in the community. In this way, end
today’s fossil-fuelled buildings. However, conditions and low temperatures to users themselves become part of the
this remains a complex task that integrate more renewables. shared story of a green, flexible and
necessitates digitalisation of the sector. sustainable energy future.
OPTIMISING ASSET MANAGEMENT
THE DIGITAL UTILITY Frequent meter data – as opposed kamstrup.com l
With the approval of the revised to theoretic models – enable utilities
EED directive, the requirement to to monitor the performance of the
install only remotely read smart underground pipes that make up the
meters for heat consumption as of distribution network.
October 2020 is now a reality. While
its original driver is to empower This allows better utilisation and
consumers by making monthly renovation planning of existing
consumption data available to them, assets so utilities can potentially
there are also clear benefits to be avoid or defer some of the heavy
reaped by utilities ready to embrace investments in this area. Also, being
the digital transformation that smart able to compare the actual network
metering prompts. load and capacity to its design
criteria will reveal how well they
Once the meters are installed, match. In this way, utilities can both
the additional expense for a utility extend the current infrastructure’s
to collect daily or even hourly lifetime and optimise dimensioning
data is minimal compared to the and planning of new networks to
added value from adopting a more avoid expensive oversizing.
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