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Summary Helsinki Combined Heating & Cooling System View
Helsinkis Combined Heating and Cooling System
Combined District Heating and Cooling – Quality of life with globally exceptional and eco-efficient district cooling In Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, Helen Ltd. operates an awarded efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP)-based District Heating and Cooling (DHC) system. The system is constantly being improved and today this cleantech innovation combines district heating and cooling in an unparalleled way. Recirculation of energy flows, excess heat from buildings heated by the sun and gathered with district cooling, goes into the system creating an integrated, very efficient energy ecosystem where only a minimal amount of energy is wasted. This Combined Heating and Cooling (CHC) system is enabled by Katri Vala heating (90 MW) and cooling (60 MW) pump plant station. Currently, more than 80 % of the district cooling energy in Helsinki is produced from energy sources that would otherwise be unutilized. The amount of renewable heat harnessed from the CHC system is growing year by year. A record amount, over 40 000 MWh of renewable district heat was collected from the sun in the summer of 2014 (in only three months) through the CHC system and the total amount of renewable district heat gathered from the system grew to 90 000 MWh in 2014. CHP production, district cooling and district heating complement each other perfectly. Helen provides a replicable and scalable innovative energy production and distribution model for the whole of Europe to use.