Case Study: Bojsenburg - Change of heating system

Short Description

KopparStaden’s Bojsenburg residential area comprises 1058 residential apartments. Interest in a transfer to heating other than direct-acting electricity increased in pace with increased environmental awareness and rising electricity prices.

An inquiry that was finalised in 2006 resulted in a decision in 2007 that direct-acting electricity should be replaced by district heating. One important factor contributing to this decision was that it was decided in 2006 that the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning’s subsidy for conversion from direct-acting electricity also covered apartment blocks. Environmental and financial goals were draw up:

Environmental goad:
To replace the direct-acting electric heating with district heating in the Bojsenburg residential area and thereby minimise the environmental impact.

Financial goal:
To obtain the best long-term economy for heating in Bojsenburg.

The decision to start the conversion was made in 2007 and the procurement was finalised during the autumn. KopparStaden worked on the design of the system solution (number of substations, etc.) together with the district heating company. They decided on a substation in every building. The district heating company bore all costs outside the building. The conversion that subsequently commenced in 2008 and was finished in 2010.

Key Elements

Environmental Design

- An LCC (Life Cycle Costs) analysis was conducted for a number of potential heating alternatives, and district heating appeared to be the most cost-efficient alternative at the same time as it satisfied all technical requirements.

- The planning prior to the commencement of the project was comprehensive and a study visit was also made to another company that had implemented the same type of conversion, though on a smaller scale.

Project Management

- It was clear early in the project that good relations with the tenants was the key to success with the project. Great emphasis was thus placed on solving problems together with the tenants.

- This resulted in, among other things, stringent quality control concerning the contractors and what they should and should not do in the apartments. The requirements for cleaning and inspection, among other things, were stringent.

Capacity Building

First and foremost we want to emphasise the study visits we made to another public company that had made the same conversion that we were about to make. This provided very useful feedback. In addition, we held training sessions for the contractors concerning how they should deal with tenants.

Funding

- A Government conversion grant covered 30% of the total cost; KopparStaden bore the remaining part.

- The payback period for the project is estimated to be 6.5 to 7 years.

Partnership Working

Close cooperation was initiated with the local district heating company for the project planning and to implement the extension of the district heating system.

Heating and Hot Water

Conversion to waterborne distribution system. Before the conversion there was only direct-acting electricity and hot water heated by electricity. The control system and monitoring system for the heating, which did not previously exist, were also installed.

Main Results

Indicative results indicate that energy use will reduce, which was not our fundamental aim with the project. The most important aspects, apart from the financial goal, were reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and primary energy use, and they have been achieved.

However, it is too soon to report the possible energy savings.

Lessons learned

To make the study visit was very good, and we recommend this to all who plan to implement similar projects.

Personal encounters are very importing when implementing projects in residential areas. The technical part of the project was, of course, not entirely simple to implement, but we learned that cooperation and communication with the tenants was the most important factor of success for the project to succeed as well as it did.

In addition, we allowed the construction process itself to move slowly in the beginning, with continuous evaluations, in order to find the most effective methods. This resulted in enhanced efficiency in the work towards the end of the project.

Additional Information

Ms Ingrid Forsell
KopparStaden AB
Email: ingrid.forssell@kopparstaden.se
Phone: +46 (0)23-458 85