P16
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL First of all, we believe that one single system or solution will not meet the wishes and requirements of all our customers, as these are quite varied. Some customers are large professional building owners like the Municipality of Frederiksberg, the Danish Building and Property Agency (property enterprise and developer of the Danish state) and large cooperative housing associations like KAB. Although few in number, they still represent a substantial part of our district heating sales, and in their organizations, they have specialists within building performance. Therefore, they are often interested in the raw data from our heat meters, so they can combine this with other building data and create their own analyses. Furthermore, they will act on the results of their analyses, improving the efficiency of their buildings and installations, which will almost always also be to the benefit of the entire district heating system. Towards these customers, the task facing us is a rather easy one which mainly consists of finding the right way (format, frequency and perhaps payment model) of transferring our raw data to them. However, most of our customers are very different. They are the owners of one- or two-family houses, small and medium sized businesses as well as privately owned apartment blocks. These customers commonly do not have neither the interest nor the competences needed to understand or act upon data on their district heating consumption – even if these are in the form of an easy-to-use app or a detailed yearly report. This has been documented in several reports and surveys and is also confirmed with our experiences so far.
Installation of WiFi access point at Frederiksberg
A WAY FORWARD As already mentioned, the solution seems rather simple and technical when it comes to our larger and professional customers: find a model of transferring data, and we are all good to go. When it comes to the non-professional customers, the situation seems more complex. As a consequence of the barriers mentioned above, we are looking at different concepts that can more easily be communicated and will deliver the benefits to both us and our customers. A common feature of these solutions is to build on the bestselling point of district heating: the ‘no hassle’ heat supply. One example is that we as a professional organization with specialized skills and knowledge take over the operation, maintenance, optimisation and perhaps even the ownership of the customer’s district heating substation. Through this setup, we become the primary users of the detailed (real-time) operational data, and it will be our responsibility to analyse and act upon the data, sometimes on our own – when no extra costs are involved – and sometimes after consulting with the customer – when extra costs are involved. Other new digitally based services could be leak surveillance (perhaps even leading to lower insurance costs) and temperature optimisation, just to mention a few.
The main reasons for this is two barriers, which have been labelled ‘the passive customer’ and ‘the payment relation’.
‘The passive customer’ is directly related to the lack of knowledge on the understanding of how heating installations work and can be optimized, but also to an absent feeling of responsibility. “My heating consumptions is dictated by the weather – there’s nothing I can do about it” is not an unfamiliar attitude. ‘The payment relation’ has to do with the core relation between the customer and the utility company, namely the delivery and payment of district heating. The customers often see the utility company solely as their supplier of heating and not as a trusted advisor when it comes to the lowering of their heating bill. After all, the selling of district heating is what makes the utility company rich, isn’t it? Well, at least not in Denmark!
E N E R G Y A N D E N V I R O N M E N T
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