City heating

Heating of houses

Our daily electricity is produced in large power plants. In many cases by burning natural gas using gas turbines. Often the very hot exhaust gases are expelled and wasted. However, some electricity companies exploit this surplus energy for heating the houses and offices in their neighbourhood.

Heat consumption during the year

The excess heat is used to heat water to almost the boiling point. The hot water is pumped through a closed system of pipes to provide houses and offices with energy for heating rooms and making warm tap water.

There is a strong seasonal dependence in demand throughout the year. The heat consumption from January through December in one particular year is displayed.

The various colors show the heat used by offices and housing in various city districts. The consumption is broken down into usage per district, and stacked vertically.

The most energy is used in the months November through March for room heating purposes. During the summer months the heat consumption is predominantly for warm tap water.

This figure revealed that different city areas have rather different demands. Anticipating on these differences have economized the overall gas usage, while still providing the required heat for all houses and offices.

Data Source

Private heat production data.

Copyright

© 2019 Bontekoe Research, Amsterdam. Partner in NARMA42.