The need to solve problems of planning and justification of the rational level of centralization and concentration of sources' heat capacity was noted in the law "About a Heat Supply". For the solution of these tasks, the complex methodology was developed; it allows us to define locations of heat sources and the border of their action at the predesign level of heat supply schemes' development of settlements. In presented complex methodology, standard values of heat load density per unit of the area (heat load density) and per unit of the pipelines' length (linear heat density) are criteria of scales restriction of the systems. The important task is to find their standard values. Authors offer dependences for determination of standard values of heat density indicators for carrying out a predesign analysis of heat supply systems. The analysis carried out showed that heat supply from chosen heat source of part of consumers isn't economically feasible if values of heat density indicators are less than their standard values. The less value of heat density in the system, the higher specific costs for generation, distribution and transmission of heat energy. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.