HOW TO CHOOSE A PIPE NETWORK FOR THE NEXT GENERATION HEATING TRANSITION
By Jens Rasmussen, Technical Manager, Isoplus and Sabrina Fröhlich, PR Head of Marketing, Isoplus
Sustainability has gained increasing attention and importance in society, including the energy industry. Besides the topic’s importance for district heating providers, the sector aims to contribute to it in the most feasible way. If a pre-insulated pipe network is produced following the EN standards, the customers can expect a very long thermal lifetime. This means choosing a pipe system today is choosing it for the next generation.
How can it be ensured the products meet the expectations and demands of the next generation of young people, and what are these? In the article “ The District Heating business model 2050 – pos- sible pathways “, published by DBDH (Danish Board of District Heating) in the HOT|COOL magazine, a group of mixed stake- holders attempted to understand possible future customer values and business models for district heating. Some of the main outlooks of this study were: Heat supply is completely decarbonized, and it is standard to recover waste heat of both high and low temperatures. We live in a circular economy and, because of circularity, coupled sectors A high level of digitalization is standard See the article “The DH business model 2050” in the HOT/COOL magazine, issue no. 3, 2023, published by The Danish Board of District Heating (DBDH) How can manufacturers of pre-insulated pipes contribute to these expectations? 1. Ensure the feedstock delivered downstream within the supply chain has the lowest possible carbon footprint. To ensure a long lifetime, pre-insulated pipes are standard-
ized products of very high quality, and this should never be jeopardized. All initiatives concerning design and material properties must fulfill the requirements of EN13941-1. A new concept has recently been introduced, offering a solution for a more environmentally friendly PE outer cas- ing. It aims to reduce the carbon footprint caused by district heating networks worldwide. The raw material used for this solution is a zero-carbon alternative to traditional fossil-based PE, and it is set to change the production and use of PE in the district heat- ing business. When energy utilities choose this concept, they get the same high-quality PE as they are used to. Still, they get ISCC certificates guaranteeing that the same amount of PE is produced from renewable sources such as plant-based waste materials and used cooking oil for the bought PE. With the ISCC-certified PE, you spare the environment 1.9 tons of CO2 per ton of PE* compared with PE based on fossil raw materials, even without compromising the EN 253 norm. The solution is based on the mass balance principle – a major benefit. The CO2 savings were calculated based on the rules laid down in the ISO standards on LCA: ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006, and ISO 14067:2013
15 www.dbdh.dk
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