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District heating companies from Europe had an annual turnover (2005) of 19.5 billion Euro and supplies heat to more than 100 million people. District heating contributes to higher energy efficiency, greater security of supply and lower carbon dioxide emissions. There is a need to strengthen the competitiveness of this technology. Important differences between Eastern and Western district heating systems exist not only regarding the level of modern equipment, but also in the conception of design and operating.

In most Western European countries, the entire district heating system is demand driven, using control equipment at four independent levels: two at the customer and two managed by the district heating operator. Each building usually has separately regulated systems for supplying heat to the radiators (space heating), to the domestic hot water system and to the ventilation system. The main advantage of this concept is that customers establish the space heat demands by means of thermostatic valves, at the first level of the heat demand control, without the risk that the District Heating Company delivers more or less heat than necessary. In most Eastern European countries, the mentality is different: the District Heating Company evaluates the quantity of heat for each building and delivers it through a distribution network to substations. A number of 20-30 buildings, usually blocks of flats, are connected to the substation and must share the quantity of heat delivered. Only few consumers can adjust the quantity of consumed heat, using thermostatic valves, and the others are forced to receive the rest.