Finnish Energy District Heating CADv2026.04 - methods and details

Energiateollisuus' Kaukolämmön päästölaskuri is a Finnish district-heating emissions calculator that provides network-specific carbon dioxide data for municipalities and district-heating companies. It enables users to compare systems across Finland and estimate their own heating-related emissions based on officially reported emission factors, including options for emission-free district heating where available.

Summary

Source

The emission factors are sourced directly from Finnish Energy (source: https://www.klpaastolaskuri.fi/en). The API from Finnish Energy has been used to read annual emission factors per heating network.

Methodology Readout Notes

General Methodology

Emission factors are retrieved directly from the Finnish Energy district heating emissions calculator API. Each emission factor corresponds to a specific district heating network, identified by a combination of the operating company name and the network name.

For networks with combined heat and power (CHP) generation, two allocation methods are available. These appear as separate detail values in Carbon+Alt+Delete:

• Benefit sharing method (also referred to as the efficiency method): Allocates emissions based on the efficiency benefit of CHP vs. separate production
• Energy method: Allocates emissions based on the energy content ratio of heat vs. electricity output

The source reports direct (combustion) CO₂ emissions only. No other greenhouse gases (CH₄, N₂O, etc.) are included in the source data. All values are originally expressed in kgCO₂/MWh and treated as kgCO₂e/MWh given the CO₂-only scope.

The source does not provide biogenic CO₂ emissions, despite wood being a significant fuel in Finnish district heating.

Finnish district heating networks are geographically bound. As such, a given consumer can only access the local network. As a result, the emission factor is assumed to be the same for both market-based (MB) and location-based (LB) reporting.

Approximation of Generation and Transmission & Distribution (T&D) Emissions

The Finnish Energy source publishes direct (combustion) emission factors only. Upstream energy supply emissions (fuel-cycle / Well-to-Wheel) and T&D losses are not included in the source. Carbon+Alt+Delete adds these as a fixed ratio from the direct emissions, based on GOV.UK district heat methodology:

• Transmission & Distribution losses: 6% loss factor applied
• Generation (fuel-cycle/upstream) losses: 17.5% loss factor applied

The DEFRA ratio approach is used (i.e. the proportional uplift factor is applied to the direct EF, not an absolute value added on top). This ensures consistency across network sizes and emission intensities.

Approach to Base Years and Validity Periods

Finnish Energy publishes emission data for year Y throughout the following year (Y+1), and this on a continuous basis as data comes available for different networks. Carbon+Alt+Delete applies a one-year delay to ensure completeness of the annual data before it is being used for reporting. The factor library is updated in January of each year. At that point, the previous year’s data (published throughout the year) is considered complete and is locked into the validity period for that year. Example: in January 2027, all 2025 data is confirmed complete and is assigned validity period 2026 in C+A+D. This data will not be revised further.

Data Considerations and Notes

General Content Notes

• Emission factors are specific to individual Finnish district heating networks. Each factor reflects the actual fuel mix and production method of that network for the relevant year.
• The keyword structure (“companyName - networkName”) is the primary identifier. Users should match their heat supplier and network name precisely.
• Both allocation methods (EFFICIENCY and ENERGY) are available where the source provides them. For most reporting purposes, the method should align with the allocation approach agreed with the heat supplier or required by the reporting framework.
• This dataset covers Heat & Steam (district heating) only. It does not cover electricity or cooling supplied by the same companies.
• The source data covers Finnish networks only. Networks outside Finland are not included.
• Approximately 10% of networks have missing data for one or more years within the published range.
• C+A+D does not fabricate emission factors for networks with no data at all. Such networks will not appear in the factor library.