GEA supplies high-efficiency screw compressors for Tallinn district heating system

Many arguments in favor of GEA

GEA scored points with Utilitas with decades of global experience in refrigeration and heating technology and in the use of ammonia as a natural refrigerant. This was complemented by highly individual and customer-specific planning and work – and the perfect fit of the GEA components.

Background information

District Heating

District heating is the most widespread type of heating in Estonia, with district heating accounting for at least 60 percent of heat energy supply. District heating is best option for covering the heating need of urban buildings. It allows to use the best heat production technologies from fuels that are otherwise difficult to use, such as wood chips or household waste, as well as utilization of the residual heat of effective cogeneration plants where heat and electricity are produced together.

Environmentally sustainable district heating is available to customers in the quantity and at the time needed. In a modern district heating system, customers do not need to worry because homes are securely supplied with heat and need no other additional heating solutions. District heating service is with high security of supply and safe to use.

District heating also has a significant role in reducing the carbon footprint of energy use:

• A building which consumes heat produced from renewable energy sources promotes climate-friendly energy production and helps to reduce the emission of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
• Production of electricity in cogeneration plants decreases the need for producing electricity from fossil fuels.
• Energy efficient district heating substitutes the need of electricity to be spent on heating buildings and therefore decreases the consumption and need of producing electricity.

This is how the Utilitas district heating system in Tallinn works

Heat energy in buildings is consumed through central heating stations, which are usually located in the basement of the building. The substation receives the heat energy and distributes it in the building based on the temperatures and controls set in the substation. In the central heating station, the building owner can set the internal temperatures of the rooms in the building and other required parameters. The amount of heat energy consumed is measured using the heat meter installed in the building.

All Utilitas customers are connected to the remote reading system, with the help of which the heat energy consumption can be measured even more accurately than before. A system with constant data connection enables faster detection of failures, losses and leaks, as well as control of the operation of the entire heat energy network. Utilitas has consistently invested in both technology and fuel exchange in order to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. As an annual average, more than 2/3 of Utilitas’ heat production uses more than 2/3 of biomass and waste heat. For covering the peak demand, Utilitas also uses natural gas, but has an investment plan to become carbon neutral and stop using fossil fuels by 2030 the latest.