Promoting efficient district heating in Estonia

Abstract

The Estonian Power and Heat Association (EPHA), in cooperation with Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), has developed a methodological approach to calculating and awarding the Efficient District Heating Label (Label) that recognises and certifies the efficiency of the district heating (DH) system or certifies that the DH system mainly uses renewable energy and cogenerated heat. The Label informs the consumer about the efficiency of the DH system and highlights DH as an efficient, environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and convenient heating method.The presence of the label serves as the basis for determining a lower primary energy factor (PEF) when calculating the energy performance of buildings that consume or will consume heat from a labeled DH system. Prior to this, a fixed DH PEF was used in Estonia.It is important to note that using the EU Energy Performance Directive definition of efficient DH networks for PEF differentiation is a novel approach. According to the information available, such differentiation solutions have never been used before.This study describes the main methodological approaches to Label assignment and calculation, as well as the most critical aspects of the system implementation in Estonia.