Work Package 3 - District heating and cooling efficiency

The Guidelines for assessing the energy efficiency of district heating/ district cooling systems are developed with a view to benchmarking individual systems and enabling comparison with alternative heating/cooling options. The methodology is based on the calculation of primary energy factor (PEF), encompassing all savings from the energy conversion to the delivery to the final customers.

The guidelines will support European Union initiatives such as:

  • the labelling of heating/cooling systems currently under development by the European Union Eco-labelling Board (EUEB)
  • the coherent implementation of relevant Directives in force and under preparation- the Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings

The Guidelines will cover:

  • definition of the District heating and cooling system boundaries
  • calculation of the primary energy factor PEF expressed as the ratio of the non-regenerative primary energy required for the building to the final energy supplied to the building
  • Energy savings
  • Environmental efficiency

Work Package 3: Guidelines for assessing the efficiency of district heating and district cooling systems (3.18Mb)