Planning tool for buildings & districts

Heat load and heat demand of buildings

Heat demand and heat load are a decisive factor in the design of energy systems. In the nPro tool, individual demand parameters are stored for each building type and each location.

Heating load and heat demands for different building types

The heat demand and the heat load of a building are two of the most important parameters in the design of district energy systems. On this page, you find the heat load and heat demand for a variety of different building types as an example for the location Berlin, Germany. The data should only be used as initial estimates if no other building-specific data is available. Information on the size and nature of the building also plays a role in more accurate estimates of heat demand. In addition, demand data is site-specific: in northern Europe, the heat demand of a school is higher than in southern Europe. In nPro, estimates of heat demand and heating load are stored for all available locations and all building types.

Table 1: Typical heating load and heat demand for different building types: The values given are estimates for average existing buildings; the values in parentheses are estimates for new construction.
Building type Heat demand Heat load
School 120 (60) kWh/m² 109 (60) W/m²
Kindergarten 140 (70) kWh/m² 127 (70) W/m²
Office 125 (65) kWh/m² 89 (59) W/m²
Hospital 165 (85) kWh/m² 92 (57) W/m²
Canteen 170 (75) kWh/m² 126 (65) W/m²
Restaurant 170 (75) kWh/m² 97 (65) W/m²
Hotel 150 (85) kWh/m² 100 (77) W/m²
Museum 115 (65) kWh/m² 61 (46) W/m²
Theater 160 (75) kWh/m² 84 (54) W/m²
Car park 0 kWh/m² 0 W/m²
Shopping center 85 (65) kWh/m² 57 (59) W/m²
Retail 95 (65) kWh/m² 56 (54) W/m²
Supermarket 115 (75) kWh/m² 77 (75) W/m²
Sport hall 140 (85) kWh/m² 64 (61) W/m²
Gym 125 (75) kWh/m² 69 (63) W/m²
Public swimming pool 175 (125) kWh/m² 80 (78) W/m²
In the nPro tool for each building type and location individual demand values are available.
Table 2: Typical heat load and heat demand for single-family houses
Year of construction Heat demand Heat load
Before 1918 250 kWh/m² 139 W/m²
... ... ...
1995 - 2001 101 kWh/m² 63 W/m²
After 2002 72 kWh/m² 45 W/m²
KfW 85 61 kWh/m² 38 W/m²
KfW 70 51 kWh/m² 32 W/m²
KfW 55 41 kWh/m² 37 W/m²
KfW 40 31 kWh/m² 34 W/m²
Passive house 21 kWh/m² 23 W/m²
Table 3: Typical heat load and heat demand for multi-family houses
Year of construction Heat demand Heat load
Before 1918 180 kWh/m² 95 W/m²
... ... ...
1995 - 2001 98 kWh/m² 41 W/m²
After 2002 65 kWh/m² 41 W/m²
KfW 85 55 kWh/m² 42 W/m²
KfW 70 45 kWh/m² 36 W/m²
KfW 55 35 kWh/m² 29 W/m²
KfW 40 25 kWh/m² 33 W/m²
Passive house 15 kWh/m² 25 W/m²
Table 4: Typical heat load and heat demand for apartment blocks
Year of construction Heat demand Heat load
Before 1918 159 kWh/m² 99 W/m²
... ... ...
1995 - 2001 73 kWh/m² 31 W/m²
After 2002 51 kWh/m² 22 W/m²
KfW 85 48 kWh/m² 22 W/m²
KfW 70 38 kWh/m² 21 W/m²
KfW 55 28 kWh/m² 22 W/m²
KfW 40 20 kWh/m² 18 W/m²
Passive house 12 kWh/m² 12 W/m²

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