This is because both grid fees and district heating prices are increasingly affected by the building's highest power draw, not only by total energy use. A short demand peak can therefore affect the charge for a whole month, which makes the timing of energy use ever more important.
So it is not always enough to ask how many kilowatt-hours the building uses. A housing association also needs to understand when the energy is used, how high the simultaneous load becomes and which systems can be controlled.
In this guide we explain what demand peaks are, how they can affect the association's finances and how our service PropSaver coordinates the building's energy assets to even out the load.
What is a demand peak?
A demand peak is a short period when the building's power draw is particularly high. For electricity, power is measured in kilowatts (kW), while the energy used over time is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). The Swedish Energy Agency describes the relationship like this: 1 kW used for 1 hour equals 1 kWh.
The amount of energy is the same in both cases. In the first, however, the power draw is six times higher. It is the simultaneity, not only the amount of energy, that creates the peak.
Why do demand peaks occur in a housing association?
A multi-dwelling building has many systems and users sharing the same energy infrastructure. The load is often high when several needs coincide, usually in the morning or in the late afternoon and evening.
Common causes of demand peaks in a housing association are:
- several EVs starting to charge when residents come home
- heat pumps or electric boilers working hard while other electricity use is high
- laundry rooms, drying equipment, ventilation, pumps and other shared equipment running at the same time
- high hot water use, especially during morning and evening hours
- batteries, solar panels, charging and heating systems optimised separately instead of as a whole
- many small loads together creating a large peak, even though no single piece of equipment seems problematic.
At apartment level it is hard for an individual resident to see how their own behaviour coincides with the rest of the building. For the board, in turn, it is hard to control the whole without sufficiently detailed metering data and a system that can coordinate several installations.
Why can demand peaks get expensive for a housing association?
Capacity charges in the electricity grid
The grid fee can contain a fixed part, a charge for transferred energy and a capacity charge. The capacity charge is based wholly or partly on how much the customer loads the grid at certain times and is normally stated in kronor per kilowatt.
Two buildings using the same number of kilowatt-hours in a month can therefore end up with different grid costs. The association that spreads its use more evenly can get a lower chargeable load than the one that concentrates a lot of use into a few hours.
The Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate stresses that the grid companies' models differ. Which hours count, how many peaks are included and how the charge varies can all look different. A low electricity price therefore does not automatically mean it is cheapest to start all flexible equipment at once. A cheap price hour can become expensive if it also creates the month's highest demand peak.
Demand can also affect the heating cost
District heating contracts can also contain a capacity component or a fixed cost affected by the building's calculated or measured capacity need. The models vary between suppliers. The price models published by Prisdialogen show why every association needs to check the terms with its local supplier.
For an association with both district heating and electric heating, the systems therefore cannot be optimised separately. The best solution depends on electricity and heating tariffs, the current load, available capacity and the building's needs.
Capacity charges in 2026: what applies?
The earlier requirement that every Swedish grid company introduce capacity charges by 1 January 2027 was revoked in June 2026. There is therefore no longer any general requirement for all grid companies to use such a model.
Capacity charges are, however, still permitted and already used by several grid companies. Existing models do not disappear automatically. At the same time, the government has tasked the Energy Markets Inspectorate with proposing a new model by 12 April 2027. The Energy Markets Inspectorate summarises the current position here.
For a housing association the advice is therefore concrete: check the tariff that applies to the building today. Look especially at which hours are measured, how the peaks are calculated and which parts of the use can be moved without affecting residents.
Why does demand become more important going forward?
The revoked introduction requirement does not make the demand question unimportant. More EVs, charging points, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries make the building more electrified, and increase the risk of high simultaneous load if the installations are not coordinated.
The Swedish Energy Agency assesses that energy efficiency and flexible electricity use have great potential as society electrifies. The National Board of Housing's Energy Guide also highlights peak shaving, demand flexibility and energy storage among the long-term energy policy goals.
For a housing association, flexibility means that use can be shifted in time, energy stored in batteries or accumulator tanks and heating planned around the building's thermal inertia. The right control can thus make better use of the existing connection and make the building better prepared for new tariffs and more energy assets.
What is PropSaver and how does it work?
PropSaver is Nordic Propeye's solution for monitoring, coordinating and controlling the building's energy system. The purpose is to reduce unnecessary demand peaks and optimise when the building uses electricity and heat.
A small controller, PropEdge, connects the building's heating substation, heat pump, charging points, battery and other controllable energy assets to Nordic Propeye's platform. PropSaver combines metering data with, among other things, weather forecasts, tariffs and the building's current needs. Every fifteen minutes the solution calculates how the systems should interact to keep the cost down.
The solution can connect available energy assets such as:
- charging points
- batteries and solar panels
- heat pumps and electric heating
- district heating and accumulator tanks.
Nordic Propeye can meter electricity, water and temperature and build a complete picture of how the building performs. PropSaver uses the readings together with the association's contracts, technical conditions and set limits to control when different resources should be used, charged, limited or relieved.
The association always sets the boundaries, for example the lowest permitted indoor temperature and when the EVs need to be fully charged. Within those limits PropSaver makes continuous adjustments to reduce the cost without compromising comfort or operation.
We do not sell electricity or heat. PropSaver optimises the building's use based on the contracts and suppliers the association already has.
"A building is not a collection of separate installations. It is an energy system, and to cut demand peaks the whole system needs to work together."
Boris de Bruin, Chief Marketing Officer at Nordic Propeye
The whole building needs to cooperate
Separate control can give separate improvements. But if the battery optimises against one signal, the charging points against another and the heating system against a third, the systems can work against each other or move the peak to another time.
PropSaver therefore adds both the demand dimension and a system perspective to traditional energy optimisation. The goal is still to avoid unnecessary energy use, but also to distribute the necessary use more intelligently over time.
The building can also act as a short-term heat store. The temperature in a large building changes slowly, which makes it possible to preheat within permitted comfort limits ahead of an expected peak and then temporarily reduce the heat supply. RISE describes how heat can be stored in the building and heating steered to periods with more available capacity.
How PropSaver can control heating by the spot price
The spot price is the variable price on the power exchange and now changes every fifteen minutes. For an association with an electricity supply contract that follows the spot price, the cost can therefore be affected by when the building uses electricity. The final electricity price also contains other parts, for example the supplier's mark-up, taxes and grid fees. The Energy Markets Inspectorate describes how quarter-hour price contracts work here.
PropSaver can exploit the price variations by letting the heat pump work more when the spot price is low and preheating the building within set comfort limits. The heat is stored temporarily in the building's structure and can be used when the spot price later rises, so that the heat pump's operation can then be reduced.
At the same time the control needs to take the building's power draw into account. The goal is therefore not to start all equipment as soon as the spot price is low, since that could create a new demand peak, but to find the most cost-effective balance between energy price, capacity cost and comfort.
How PropSaver can cut a demand peak in practice
Picture a cold weekday evening. Several residents come home and plug in their EVs while hot water demand rises, the laundry room is in use and the heat pump is working hard. Every system works as it should, but together they create a high peak.
PropSaver can see the load coming and prepare the building. Depending on the association's installations and contracts, the solution can then:
- preheat the building within set comfort limits before the rush
- limit and spread EV charging over the night
- use stored energy from a battery during the most loaded period
- split the heating need between heat pump and district heating
- coordinate the measures so the problem is not simply moved to another system.
The result is a more even load curve. The building still gets the heat, charging and comfort it needs, but uses the resources at more suitable times.
How much can a housing association save with PropSaver?
In Nordic Propeye's simulations of eleven different building configurations, reduced demand peaks accounted on average for more than half of the calculated saving. The results varied with the building's equipment and contracts, but the pattern was clear: the demand peaks were the most important cost driver.
The examples below are based on simulations where the building's systems initially run separately without smart coordination. They should not be regarded as customer cases, forecasts or guarantees. Nordic Propeye always calculates on the specific building's conditions before any possible saving is stated.
Example 1: A building with many charging points
In the simulated building with 60 apartments and 30 charging points, the sum of the year's twelve monthly electricity peaks fell from 2,095 to 1,097 kW, almost a halving. PropSaver spread the charging over the night instead of letting all cars charge at once.
Example 2: A building with two heat sources
In the building with 70 apartments, a heat pump and district heating, the sum of the monthly electricity peaks fell from 1,274 to 892 kW. By coordinating heat sources, charging and other energy assets, PropSaver could reduce the load when it would otherwise have been highest.
Example 3: A large installation with EV charging
In the simulated building with 200 apartments and 100 charging points, the sum of the year's monthly peaks fell from 8,804 to 4,440 kW. The example shows how much coordinated charging can matter in larger buildings with many EVs.
Example 4: A fully equipped building
In the building with 160 apartments and several controllable energy assets, the sum of the monthly electricity peaks fell from 6,793 to 3,634 kW. When charging, battery, heat pump and other equipment are controlled as one shared system, the load can be spread more evenly over time.
What can your association save?
The savings potential is unique to each building. It is affected by, among other things, the building's insulation and thermal properties, energy use, tariffs, existing control and which energy assets are present. The figures in the examples above therefore cannot be transferred directly to an individual housing association.
For a more detailed, building-specific assessment, Nordic Propeye offers a paid pre-study with a site visit. The building's conditions and energy assets are documented, while energy bills, contracts and available metering data are collected. The information is then analysed in Nordic Propeye's calculation tool to produce a well-founded estimate of the savings potential.
For a first indication, the association can use Nordic Propeye's simplified savings calculator. There you can enter, among other things, the number of apartments, energy use and existing energy assets and get a preliminary estimate.
What benefits can PropSaver give a housing association?
The actual saving depends on the building's energy profile, tariff, installations and existing control. The potential therefore needs to be assessed for each association. Possible benefits are:
- lower costs when grid or heating contracts have a capacity component
- better use of the existing grid connection and installed equipment
- the ability to handle more charging points through smart load balancing
- smarter use of solar panels and batteries, where the possible saving is weighed against demand peaks and the cost of battery wear, among other things
- a better overview of the interplay between electricity, heat, water and temperature
- automated control based on several price and load signals
- a more flexible building as tariffs and technical needs change.
The more controllable energy assets the building has, the more opportunities PropSaver gets to optimise. But even a traditional district-heated building without solar panels, a battery or charging points can have potential to reduce its demand peaks through smarter heating control and use of the building's thermal mass.
A first review should map the association's contracts, metering data and controllable installations. Then it is possible to see when the peaks occur, what causes them and which measures can give the most benefit without compromising operation or comfort.
Summary: make the building a working energy system
Demand peaks occur when many energy-intensive needs coincide. For a housing association, entirely normal use of EV charging, heating, hot water and shared equipment can create a load that affects the cost.
By metering, analysing and coordinating charging, heating, local production and energy storage, the association can even out the load and make better use of its existing capacity.
PropSaver rests on a simple idea: the building is an energy system, and we make it work as one.
Read more about PropSaver and book a first review of your building
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between kW and kWh?
kW describes power, how fast energy is used at a given moment. kWh describes the amount of energy over time. The same number of kWh can give a different demand peak depending on how the use is distributed.
Must every grid company have capacity charges from 2027?
No. The requirement that every grid company introduce capacity charges by 1 January 2027 was revoked in June 2026. Capacity charges are still permitted, and grid companies can keep or introduce them as long as the models follow the applicable rules. For housing associations and multi-dwelling buildings the question remains relevant all the same. Capacity-based tariffs are already common for the larger grid subscriptions such buildings often have, and many district heating contracts also contain a capacity component. The association therefore needs to check how its own grid and district heating contracts are designed.
How is a demand peak calculated?
It depends on the grid company's model. The charge can, for example, be based on one or more of the month's highest power levels during certain hours. Always check the association's current grid contract.
Can a housing association reduce demand peaks without using less energy?
Yes. By shifting or spreading out flexible use, the peak power can fall even if the total amount of energy is the same. Demand optimisation is above all about simultaneity and timing.
How does PropSaver help reduce demand peaks?
PropSaver coordinates controllable energy assets such as charging points, batteries, solar panels, heat pumps, district heating and accumulator tanks. In practice this can mean, for example, that EV charging is spread over the night, that the building is preheated ahead of an expected demand peak or that the system switches between heat pump and district heating depending on which option is most cost-effective at the time. The control adapts when the resources are used based on metering data, weather forecasts, tariffs and set limits.