Sustainable development as early as the 1950s
History of district heating in Helsinki
The City of Helsinki’s power plant began to supply district heat to companies and homes in Helsinki in the middle of the 20th century. The first customers to sign an agreement in the winter of 1953 were Lindström’s laundry (14 January 1953) and the city’s slaughterhouse.
As early as 1913, Managing Director Bernhard Wuolle of Helsinki electric utility suggested combined heat and power production as an option which would meet Helsinki’s energy needs and make district heating possible. When the war broke out, the cogeneration project was put on the back burner, but in the late 1940s the new Managing Director Unto Rytkönen revived the project idea. In November 1953, the city council decided that Helsinki should be engaged in large-scale district heating and charged the electric utility with its implementation.
Starting with steam heat
At first, district heat customers were supplied with steam heat. The first water district heat customer, Perhonkatu Hotel and Restaurant School, was connected to district heating in 1957. In the early stages, district heating operations faced a number of technical problems and were looked upon with suspicion even by leading electricity experts.
After initial difficulties, district heating soon became common, however, and was established as a key part of the city’s energy management in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result of the energy crisis in the 1970s, district heating was accepted without controversy. Today, over 90% of buildings in Helsinki are heated with district heat. Measured with the volume of heat delivered, Helsinki is one of the major cities using district heat in Europe.
Environmentally beneficial heating solution
The production of district heat in CHP plants is efficient and economical. Compared with separate production, fuel savings amount to over 30%. Cogeneration is also beneficial to the environment. Thanks to district heating, the chimney stacks of individual buildings have disappeared from the city and the air quality in Helsinki has improved considerably.
Helsingin Energia has been working persistently to minimise emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions from energy production are 35% lower in cogeneration than in separate production. The improvement of air quality has been advanced by the introduction of desulphurisation plants to coal-fired power plants in the 1980s and 1990s and by the increasing share of natural gas in the range of fuels used.