District Heating Planning
EKT uses Urbio to Densify Existing Heating Networks
EKT AG is an energy utility company operating in Switzerland. It guarantees the base supply of electrical energy across the canton of Thurgau. In addition, EKT is dedicated to the development and operation of efficient district heating networks (DHN). With already two established networks and ambitions to expand further, EKT faced the challenge of optimizing the densification of its existing infrastructure. By integrating Urbio into their workflow as a “spatial CRM” (Customer Relationship Management), EKT streamlined customer interaction, visualized potential areas for expansion, and ultimately accelerated the growth of their district heating network with +10% sales from heat year over year.
Customer
EKT
Sector
Energy provider
Location
Switzerland
Challenge
District heating projects rarely unfold in a perfectly predictable manner. Often, they start off oversized, causing energy losses and elevated temperatures. The main challenge then becomes optimizing this network—identifying where and how to densify it, effectively managing customer interest, and ensuring that the network has the capacity to handle these changes.
EKT aimed to extend and densify existing district heating networks, but also build out new networks. They needed a systematic approach to analyze large volumes of data, such as building metrics, energy demand, and customer interest.
Managing incoming requests from building owners for connections and tracking their commercial status was a time-consuming manual process. Furthermore, evaluating the remaining capacity of existing networks to connect new buildings and providing timely responses to clients proved challenging. EKT approached Urbio in search for a solution that could not only provide contextual building data in their territory, but also offer the tools to track spatial commercial data and compute technical and financial metrics.
Developing district heating networks is central to EKT’s mission and essential to decarbonizing buildings in our region. To meet this challenge effectively, our teams need powerful tools like Urbio that help us act faster and with greater precision.
— Marcel Stofer, Head of Heating at EKT
Solution
EKT implemented Urbio as a “spatial CRM”, leveraging its capabilities for data visualization, potential analysis, and customer relationship management.
Visualization of Existing Networks
EKT began by importing layout data of their existing district heating networks into Urbio, alongside building data such as energy demand, power, and energy system types. This allowed them to visualize the networks within their perimeter while enriching them with crucial building information in close proximity. They were able to import EKT’s geospatial network data as DWG and SHP files, Excel data containing lists of connected buildings, as well as cadaster information (parcel number), ensuring a comprehensive and consolidated dataset within Urbio.
Potential Analysis
With the network and building data visualized, EKT conducted a potential analysis to identify key metrics and areas for densification. They elaborated scenarios based on specific criteria, for example only including oil boilers of more than 20kW and excluding single-family buildings, then computed macro information at the perimeter level (number of buildings, total energy demand…), and generated maps to present results to decision committees.
Urbio as a Spatial CRM
EKT leveraged Urbio as a CRM to manage and process customer interest data directly within the platform. This allowed not only to spatialize commercial data, but also link it directly to technical energy metrics. They edited building and energy data in Urbio, integrated information about building owners' interest in potential connections, and evaluated the remaining capacity of the network to connect new buildings. By importing and editing building and customer information data, EKT established a centralized system for managing customer interactions and network expansion opportunities.
Benefits
Accelerated Network Densification
By visualizing existing networks and analyzing potential areas for connection within Urbio, EKT significantly accelerated the process of network densification, observing a +10% increase in heat sales year over year.
Streamlined Customer Relationship Management
Utilizing Urbio as a spatial CRM allowed EKT to streamline their customer relationship management processes. The platform's features for importing, editing, and tracking customer information, as well as evaluating network capacity, improved communication with building owners and allowed for faster responses to connection requests.
Urbio lets us literally visualize where to grow our networks. We're connecting more buildings, faster, because we can rapidly spot opportunities and manage customer requests all in one app.
— Sandro Lersch, Project Lead, Heat Projects at EKT
