Energy saving analyses on the reconstruction project in district heating system with distributed variable speed pumps

Optimization of the district heating (DH) piping network is of vital importance to the economics of the whole DH system. The application of distributed variable frequency speed pump (DVFSP) in the district heating network has been considered as a technology improvement that has a potential in saving energy compared to the conventional central circulating pump (CCCP) district heating system (DHS). Economic frictional factor is a common design parameter used in DH pipe network design. In this paper, the mathematical model of economic frictional factor based on DVFSP DHS is established, and influence factors are analyzed, providing a reference for engineering designs for the system. According to the analysis results, it is studied that the energy efficiency in the DH system with the DVFSP is compared with the one in the DH system with conventional central circulating pump (CCCP) using a case based on a district heating network in Dalian, China. The results of the study on the case show that the average electrical energy saved is 49.41% of the one saved by the DH system with conventional central circulating pump in the primary network.