It is nothing less than the world's first sea heat pump, which is about to be put into operation at DIN Forsyning in Esbjerg. Together with a tiled boiler and an electric boiler, it will supply Esbjerg, Fanø and Varde with district heating. It is the green conversion of district heating when the coal-fired Esbjerg plant is scheduled to shut down on 1 September this year.
DOI.dk met with business development manager Claus A. Nielsen from DIN Forsyning to hear about the future and the next steps in development. The official inauguration of the sea heat pump and the wood chip boiler is not expected until the end of the district heating season 24/25 – that is, when spring knocks on the door again in 2025. And that is completely on schedule.
- Now we are at the point where we can put the district heating of the future into operation. This is the end of the first phase, where we will have the heat pump and the chip boiler commissioned within the next six months - we will, says Claus A. Nielsen at the site at Esbjerg harbour, where there is still lively activity and a construction site atmosphere.
The business development manager is also a man that everyone has to talk to when he comes to the site. However, some have already completely settled in place.
- We have already commissioned our 40 MW electric boiler, battery and gas engine, which can also be used for emergency power, he asserts.
System optimizations are part of the district heating of the future
But the next and actually equally important step is already well under way.
- We must make the buildings better at using district heating. That is why we work with software to quickly identify bad coolers, explains Claus A. Nielsen about the so-called outlet temperature of the district heating water from the individual building. It is important so that the utilization of the heat is optimal.
The software and a very fast response time are already a success.
- We write to customers in e-Boks so that they can get a plumber to adjust their system, says Claus A. Nielsen and explains why it is important:
- We want to be proactive so that people don't just get a big bill the following year. On average, our customers have only had a problem for three days before we notify them. Before we got our digital solution, the average was three weeks.
Overall, it produces a result that gets noticed.
- Therefore, we have a return flow temperature of 35 degrees on average. People in the industry don't believe us when we tell them, says Claus A. Nielsen with a smile.
The sea heat pump
However, it is not only the district heating customers who benefit from the low outlet temperature. It actually also has something to do with the sea heat pump.
- The sea heat pump is most efficient when there is a low temperature on the return line. This is because we use CO2 as a refrigerant. That is why the system is extra sensitive to temperature, explains Claus A. Nielsen.
Although the development with sea heat pump, chip boiler, electric boiler, battery and gas engine is important, something else is actually more important.
- The crucial thing is to be able to operate the system, then it basically doesn't matter where the heat comes from. Power availability will depend on whether the wind blows, says Claus A. Nielsen.
There are periods when there are negative electricity prices. This means that good planning and precisely the operation of the system can mean that, in periods, your utility can get money to produce heat for its customers. But it also requires storage capacity, and a large accumulation tank is being insulated right next to the sea heat pump.
- We are constantly looking seven days into the future to optimize and use as little as possible, which is why the accumulation tanks are important, says Claus A. Nielsen and makes an assessment:
- We will probably build more heat storage capacity in the future.
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