1049
2026
There is full focus on making the best possible use of district heating in the approximately 400 apartments in Sønderborg Cooperative Housing Association’s Kløver-/Hvedemarken department. The goal is not only to use heat more sustainably, but also to help residents save money on their heating bills. All with the help of a heat exchanger and measures to motivate residents to conserve heat.
Before the project started, the heat from the radiator was sent directly back to the district heating, with the result that residents’ heating bills were often surcharged because the return water was hotter than the utility company’s recommendation. Today, the return water is sent down to the basement past the hot water tank, where the high temperature helps to heat domestic hot water. This provides an extra good and more sustainable utilization of the district heating, while the residents do not have to pay an additional fee to the district heating company, as the return water has removed the heat.
The next part of the project is about getting residents to be more aware of their consumption patterns and thus reduce their heat consumption. Different communication tools will be tested for their ability to get residents to change their behavior, so that the best ones can be used in other residential areas.
The initiative in Kløver-/Hvedemarken is one of 6 European demonstration sites in the European ARV project, which aims to create climate-positive circular communities and increase the rate of building renovation. Common to all ARV initiatives is that they connect people, buildings and energy systems using digital tools, and that the solutions are easy for everyone to understand and use. The project is funded by the EU and runs until 2026.