Operational performance of a modernized district heating system: monitoring evidence from the transition to closed-circuit architecture with automated individual thermal points in Chirchik, Uzbekistan

Abstract

Relevance: Post-Soviet district heating infrastructure in Central Asia consistently exhibits network heat losses exceeding 35–40% and boiler efficiencies below 75%, largely due to decades of deferred maintenance and an outdated open hydraulic configuration. Peer-reviewed operational monitoring data from large-scale district heating modernization projects in the region remain extremely limited.

Aim: the study aims to quantitatively assess changes in thermal efficiency and heat losses in the K-1 heating network following modernization; determine reductions in natural gas, electricity, and network make-up water consumption; evaluate the performance of automated individual heating substations in terms of domestic hot water provision and their impact on consumer costs; and assess the environmental benefits of modernization and its implications for infrastructure service life.

Methods: this quasi-experimental before-and-after study analyzed operational monitoring and energy audit data from the Yubileynaya boiler plant (K-1) and its 24,845-m-long distribution network in Chirchiq, Uzbekistan (population: 176,151). As part of a World Bank-funded project, the open domestic hot water supply system was replaced with pre-insulated pipelines and automated individual heating substations at the building level. Key performance indicators included boiler thermal efficiency, network heat losses, natural gas and electricity consumption, network make-up water consumption, and CO₂ emissions.

Results: following modernization, boiler efficiency increased from 83% to 92–95%. Network heat losses decreased from approximately 40% to 15–20%. Annual natural gas consumption was reduced by 25–30%, with total project-level savings estimated at up to 320 million m³/year. Electricity consumption for pumping decreased by 15–20% (approximately 85 million kWh/year) following the installation of variable-frequency drives. Network make-up water requirements were reduced by 60–75%. CO₂ emissions decreased by approximately 30%.