There is a lot going on right now in the district heating sector in the Swedish town of Falun. 1,000 flats are to be converted from electric heating to district heating and also a small house residential area is to get district heating instead of electric. Furthermore the Falu Energi & Vatten utilities company is to install district cooling, with the first customer to be connected by the end of this year. FVB has been engaged in all three projects.

In the Bojsenburg town district, the conversion is on at full speed. The conversion project started in January and estimations are that it will continue for three years. All in all 1,000 flats are to be converted from electric heating to district heating. The project is carried out by Falu Energi & Vatten and the municipal housing company Kopparstaden. The energy company is responsible for the connection to district heating and is also part financing the project. Kopparstaden is responsible for all indoor installations.

“The municipality, as owner of the housing company, took the decision to convert from electric heating to district heating. Such a large number of flats having electric heating has been quite a concern,” says Mr. Bengt Östling, district heating manager.

“Thanks to a longstanding and good relation with the housing company and political resolution we can now convert this district. It is also eligible for subsidies and that has of course paved the way for the investment,” Mr. Östling says.
These subsidies have been decisive for many conversion projects in Sweden and are important also in the small house residential area now to be converted by Falu Energi & Vatten.

“The initiative was launched by a group of small house owners who engaged themselves in getting district heating to the area. We have simultaneously been working to find cost-effective solutions for these customers,” Mr. Östlind says.
To make things easier for the small house owners, Falu Energi &Vatten have coordinated the applications for subsidies for a conversion away from electric heating. Those who have chosen not to convert are primarily people who bought their house recently and lack the economy for making such an investment, and those who have lived in their small house for a long time and are now planning to move out.

“This is an area where the generations are changing and that explains the difficulty in getting an even larger part of the small house owners interested.”

“We offer a financing solution based on a fixed monthly payment and a variable one depending on consumption. This means that they don´t have to take the full investment cost, something that would suit those who have just moved in or are thinking of moving out. The alternative solution is that they buy their heat exchanger and then pay the variable cost for their district heating. Regardless of which financing solution they prefer, it will be a cost reduction as compared to what they have today.”

But customers in Falun are not only interested in district heating, but also in district cooling. At the turn of the year, the first customer will be connected, a mall in the city. The reason for the district cooling venture is that Falu Energi & Vatten wants to increase the heating basis for one of its co-generation plants in the summer. This is feasible by using absorption cooling, using the surplus heat. The solution was regarded so excellent by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency as to make Falun receive SEK 6.5M as a support for the project. The project is called a “Gold Nugget”, an especially efficient measure in a climate investment programme that would otherwise not be eligible for subsidies. By investing in a absorption cooling plant, consumption in conventional cooling installations will be lowered and power production in the local co-generation plant could at the same time increase.

“Today, not many buildings in Falun have cooling, but we are noticing that this sector is increasing. Buying district heating is cheaper than traditional cooling solutions and also good for the economy of our society. In the long run, it is also good business for us.”

Right now, a number of purchases are in the pipeline, as well as project planning. In these endeavours Falu Energi & Vatten are supported by FVB that have also carried out the analyses for the conversion projects.

“FVB are the experts in district heating and district cooling. In this, they are very competent indeed,” says Mr. Östling.

By Ann-Sofie Borglund