Economics
Economic analysis, funding, tariff design and contracts
Economics decides whether a heat network is built and operated. It links investment and operating costs with funding schemes, tariff design and long-term contractual security. This topic area covers economic analysis to VDI 2067, BEW funding, tariff models and heat supply contracts.
3 articles in this category
Economic Analysis According to VDI 2067
VDI 2067 for district heating networks: net present value, annuity, annual costs and LCOH — with service lives from Part 1 and worked examples.
BEW Funding – Key to Climate-Neutral Heat Supply
Everything about the German federal funding for efficient district heating networks: requirements, rates and application
Tariff Design and Heat Supply Contracts
Tariff structure, heat supply contracts, and technical connection requirements: Contractual foundations of thermal networks
Overview: Economics
The articles in this topic area cover the economic assessment of heat networks over their entire life cycle. Three planning questions are central: at what levelized cost of heat can the network supply, which funding can be included, and how are prices and supply conditions structured towards customers?
The economic analysis to VDI 2067 is the methodological basis: it divides costs into capital-related, demand-related, operation-related and other costs and converts them into comparable annual costs using the annuity method. BEW funding has a major influence on this calculation, since investment and operating cost subsidies reduce the levelized cost of heat and are tied to requirements for the planning.
The article on tariff design and heat supply contracts covers the customer side: contract components, technical connection requirements, a price structure of base and energy price, and price adjustment clauses. The input data for the economic analysis come from network design and heat generation: route lengths, diameters and heat losses determine the investment and operating costs of the network, while generation mix and utilisation ratios determine fuel and electricity costs.