The District Heating Assessment Tool (DHAT) was developed by engineering consultancy Ramboll and, the energy agency said, uses lessons learned in the Danish district heating sector.
DHAT performs an economic feasibility study and finds the comparative environmental impacts of district heating and individual heating, and can be adjusted to local conditions worldwide.
Specifically, it compares project costs in terms of total lifetime cost and levelized cost of energy (LCoE); emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O and NOx; and socioeconomic costs. It shows marginal costs for different technology choices, company and consumer economics at different heating prices, as well as levies and taxes.
The agency said DHAT can be used for screenings as well as deeper analyses of district heating projects and support for policymakers.
The tool is now publicly available and may be found here.
According to the energy agency, DHAT analyses will be used to carry out a district heating pilot project between the Danish Energy Agency and the China National Energy Conservation Centre.