District Energy & Thermal Network Equipment worked example

Heat Exchanger Load with heat exchanger thermal duty of 30 kW: a worked example

This scenario runs the heat exchanger load calculation on the strong side: heat exchanger thermal duty of 30 kW, with every other input held at its documented default. Use it when heat exchanger load in district energy and thermal network equipment is being quoted and energy is a real chunk of the district energy and thermal network equipment cost stack.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Heat exchanger thermal duty: 30 kW (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 12)
  • Loaded operating hours: 8 hr (unchanged)
  • Thermal energy cost basis: 0.12 $ / kWh (unchanged)
  • Metered heat delivered or ETS served: 1,000 kWh or stations (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Heat transferred through exchanger = heat exchanger thermal duty × loaded operating hours) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 240 kWh for heat transferred through exchanger, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 28.8 $ for heat exchanger delivered-energy cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.03 $ / piece for cost per delivered kwh or station.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3.6 $ / hr for hourly heat exchanger energy cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where heat exchanger thermal duty sits at 12 kW and the headline result is 96 kWh, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 240 kWh.
  • Use it to reconcile ETS metering, build delivered-heat tariffs, or benchmark cost per station across a portfolio. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Heat transferred through exchanger: 240 kWh (headline result)
  • Heat exchanger delivered-energy cost: 28.8 $
  • Cost per delivered kWh or station: 0.03 $ / piece
  • Hourly heat exchanger energy cost: 3.6 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Heat Exchanger Load calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.