In Latvia, heat supply is provided in three different ways: using district heating (hereinafter – DH), local heating and individual heating systems. Heat energy consumption consists of heat energy consumption for heating, hot water and heat energy technological processes. The structure of DH consumers has not changed in recent years and the largest consumers of heat are households – 70 % of the total energy consumption. The district heating system accounts for approximately 29 % of the total consumption. There is also the so-called tertiary sector, which is made of municipal and state buildings with a minor total heat consumption of about 1 %.
It should be noted that 65–70 % of energy is used for heating needs, and 30–35% for hot water preparation. In Latvia, heat of DH consumers is produced both in boiler houses (hereinafter – BHs) and cogeneration plants (hereinafter – CHPs). The latter also produce electricity. Over the past 10 years, the distribution of heat produced in BHs and CHPs has changed significantly. The heat supply of the Latvian energy sector is a system consisting of three main elements – heat source, transmission and distribution networks, and end consumer. Low efficiency of heat supply system elements creates risks to security of heat supply, resource sustainability and competitiveness. Increasing energy efficiency in the system as a whole, or in individual elements of the system, will promote the enhancement of the heat supply sector, while promoting economic growth as well. The research attempts to evaluate the energy efficiency of DH systems in the so-called left bank (hereinafter – LB) DH area (located on the left bank of the Daugava River in Riga).
