District Energy & Thermal Network Equipment worked example

Heat Exchanger Load with heat exchanger thermal duty of 6 kW: a worked example

This worked example runs the heat exchanger load numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: heat exchanger thermal duty of 6 kW instead of the typical 12 kW. Estimate delivered heat exchanger energy and electricity cost for energy transfer stations, building substations, or central plant heat exchangers.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Heat exchanger thermal duty: 6 kW (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 12)
  • Loaded operating hours: 8 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Thermal energy cost basis: 0.12 $ / kWh (held at the documented default)
  • Metered heat delivered or ETS served: 1,000 kWh or stations (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Heat transferred through exchanger = heat exchanger thermal duty × loaded operating hours.
  • Heat transferred through exchanger works out to 48 kWh at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Heat exchanger delivered-energy cost works out to 5.76 $ at these inputs.
  • Cost per delivered kWh or station works out to 0.01 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Hourly heat exchanger energy cost works out to 0.72 $ / hr at these inputs.

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 50% below the baseline at 48 kWh.
  • Use it to reconcile ETS metering, build delivered-heat tariffs, or benchmark cost per station across a portfolio. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Heat transferred through exchanger: 48 kWh (headline result)
  • Heat exchanger delivered-energy cost: 5.76 $
  • Cost per delivered kWh or station: 0.01 $ / piece
  • Hourly heat exchanger energy cost: 0.72 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Heat Exchanger Load calculator, set heat exchanger thermal duty to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.