Analysis on alternatives to using natural gas in Fredensborg Municipality

Denmark | March 2021 - August 2021

Fredensborg Municipality has a target of having a fossil free electricity and heat supply by 2035 at the latest. This will mean decommissioning approximately 7500 individual natural gas boilers in the homes of the municipality, of which 2000 are in homes that are categorised as dense-low settlements and are located in areas, which are not well suited for district heating at the outset. Because of potential noise pollution, the assessment is that individual heat pumps are also not an obvious solution for this type of buildings.

The purpose of this task was therefore to describe and assess alternative suggestions for the heat supply in dense-low settlement areas, as well as assess which geographical areas that should be prioritised for a joint heat solution based on information on options for district heating nearby, the age of the boilers, and similar local and relevant conditions. The analysis consisted of the following three work packages:

  • Work package 1: Mapping the areas
  • Work package 2: Heating technology catalogue
  • Work package 3: Analysis and recommendations for alternative heat supply in the areas

Some of the identified areas are scattered settlements, which are not of interest when it comes to joint solutions for heating and/or have good prerequisites for individual heat pumps. It is especially the dense-low settlements that can be challenging for heat pumps and this analysis investigated the options and competitiveness of joint solutions in these areas.

For each area an estimate was calculated for the cost of the joint heating solutions and based on this, it was assessed whether a joint solution can be economically advantageous compared to the existing heat solution(s) and alternative individual solutions.

The project was carried out for Fredensborg Municipality, and it ran from March to August 2021.