Utilitas, the largest renewable energy producer and district heating service provider in Estonia, supplies hundreds of thousands of people with environmentally friendly district heating and electricity around the clock. For this purpose, we use renewable fuels as much as possible, including wood waste. A total of 60% of Estonian residents use district heating, a heating method best suited to cities and other densely populated areas. We would like to point out the five main reasons for choosing district heating.
1. District heating is safe and carefree
Heating, its availability, and the security of supply are of primary importance to people’s lives. District heating meets these requirements and heat is available to customers in the required quantity and time. District heating customers can be sure their home is reliably heated and will meet environmental requirements, even decades from now. District heating is made reliable by top field specialists, and our experienced engineers. Investments keep the system modern, and high-tech solutions ensure that the temperature will match the customer’s needs in any situation and weather. The customer is only responsible for the heating system and heating substation of the building and its maintenance. District heating is easy and convenient, because the customer does not have to worry about buying fuel, setting up the boiler, or maintaining it.
2. District heating is environmentally friendly
If all Estonian district heating consumers – including the nearly 5,000 buildings that use Utilitas’ service – used local heating solutions instead, the air in cities would be many times more polluted. Utilitas decreased CO2 emissions by 650,000 tons in 2019 just by using local wood chips – this amount would have been emitted if the same amount of energy had been produced from gas and oil shale.
In 2019, 112 buildings across Estonia were added to the Utilitas Energy Group networks, and each of these district heating consumers contributes to keeping our environment cleaner.
Utilitas’ customers include apartments and private buildings, schools, kindergartens, office buildings, state institutions, sports halls, swimming pools, shopping centers, hotels, hospitals, and social institutions. The decrease in heat consumption in recent years shows that more and more customers pay attention to energy efficiency – houses are better insulated and modernized. This ensures a high-quality indoor climate and optimal energy consumption.
Today’s boiler plants are very efficient and district heating networks save energy. In district heating boiler plants and cogeneration plants, effective filters and flue gas scrubbers are used to clean the smoke emerging from burning fuel, thanks to which the steam that comes out of the chimney is 50 degrees instead of 160 degrees. Energy production processes are controlled and comply with strict environmental standards.
3. District heating does not depend on imported fuels
Utilitas uses as much renewable fuel, obtained right here in Estonia, as possible. These renewable fuels come from local forest and wood industry leftovers, which would otherwise simply be waste. Wood chips are produced in Estonia, which also supports local employment and keeps money in the local economy.
Thanks to the domestic commodity, we are less dependent on oil price fluctuations. Wood chips are the greenest and cheapest fuel for heating; the price has historically been more stable compared to the price of natural gas and shale oil.
Utilitas primarily uses wood chips in all eight cities where the company offers its service: Valga, Jõgeval, Rapla, Keila, Haapsalu, Kärdla, Tallinn, and Maardu.
4. District heating makes Estonia cleaner
The wider use of efficient district heating based on renewable sources is in line with the energy policy of the European Union and has an important role in achieving the goals of energy independence and climate policy. Climate policy also affects real estate developers. The national energy and climate plan favors abandoning fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels, and a target has been set that 63% of the heat and 42% of the total energy consumed in Estonia should be produced via renewable sources by 2030. Utilitas makes a contribution to achieving this by supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the widespread use of renewable fuels in the production of heat and electricity.
5. District heating is competitive
The pricing of district heating is transparent, because it is based on the District Heating Act and the regulations of the Competition Authority and takes into account real production costs. The Competition Authority establishes a limit price for each region, above which the heat price may not go.
In a building with district heating, the maintenance costs and any necessary heating system investments are lower than in the case of any other type of heating – the heating unit is cheaper, and its maintenance is easier. The efficiency is also increased by the number of district heating users – the more users there are, the cheaper it is for everyone.
However, the customer’s final price depends on the actual amount of consumption – the colder the weather, the more the heating. But not just that! Costs may differ for two identical buildings because, in addition to the outside air temperature, the condition of the building’s heating system, the state of renovation or energy class, and the residents’ preferred indoor temperatures affect the amount of consumption – lowering the indoor temperature by one degree reduces heating costs by 5%. It must not be forgotten that hot water consumption also affects the amount of heat consumption, and the more consciously residents consume hot water, the more optimal heat consumption is.
The article was published in March 25, 2020, in the magazine Elamu- ja Korteriühistu.