Warsaw. The city is implementing an integrated energy saving system

The capital city hall informed about the implementation of the energy saving system in a message sent to the media on Thursday. Officials explain that the system consists of measurement and regulation devices, including: electricity and heat meters, thermostatic heads connected to teletransmission devices.

– Currently, as part of the pilot project, the energy management system has been installed in 10 educational institutions. Sensors collect data on media consumption and integrate the operation of internal installations, but also alert about emergency situations, enabling remote management from the operator’s station. One of the facilities where the system is being piloted is kindergarten number 420 at ul. św. Urszula Ledóchowska in Wilanów. We estimate that thanks to the implementation of monitoring of electricity and heat consumption in all municipal facilities, Warsaw can save up to PLN 20 million a year – said the vice-president of Warsaw, Renata Kaznowska, quoted in the release.

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Leszek Drogosz, deputy director of the Infrastructure Office in the capital city hall, told us about the details of the implemented system.

– The municipal energy management system is based on a data management model that the city purchased at the end of last year together with equipment for 10 educational institutions, i.e. Warsaw schools and kindergartens. This model will be successively expanded with new points on the map of Warsaw. We have already equipped more than 70 educational institutions in Śródmieście and Targówek with thermal energy management devices, but they have not yet been used as a system solution. Now we will integrate them within the municipal system – explains Leszek Drogosz. – The operation of the system is not complicated. The school operates limited hours. Classes usually start around 8am and end around 6pm, sometimes later, Monday to Friday. In principle, in each case, it is possible to precisely determine the moment when the facility will be vacated by users. The system is based on the fact that a heating profile is prepared for each facility. When the building is not in use, the temperature is lowered. As a result, we buy less heat and achieve significant savings on bills – explains Drogosz.

Building profiles are written out for the whole year. In the case of schools or kindergartens, they include breaks in learning, weekends and winter holidays.

– We are also refining the issue of how to effectively heat the entire building. It is often the case that in large buildings it is difficult to ensure that each room has a similar temperature. The system helps to balance the heating throughout the facility – indicates Drogosz.

The devices installed in schools are focused not only on heat monitoring, but also on the consumption of electricity, gas and water.

– Thanks to the data collected by the devices, we are able to assess how much energy or water should be used per square meter, what the consumption standards look like in individual districts. By analyzing the data, we can make decisions to what extent and in what order to modernize individual facilities. What’s more, we also get information about emergency situations that in some facility the amount of energy consumed is too high. Then such a facility is inspected and corrective actions are taken – emphasizes Leszek Drogosz.

We also asked Director Drogosz whether it would be profitable for the city to invest PLN 45 million over the next three years to gain PLN 20 million in savings annually. The official says yes.

“These investments can be recouped in about two and a half years. It can be said that it is one of the best possible investments when the payback period is so short – assesses Drogosz. – Action, such as equipping urban facilities with intelligent energy management systems, is a not too expensive undertaking, and it brings results quite quickly – emphasizes our interlocutor.

There are also first estimates of how quickly the system will develop. – We would like next year at least 200 municipal facilities, not only educational ones, to be monitored as part of the municipal system. Ultimately, in about four years, there should be over 1,000 of them. Then we will be able to talk about tens of millions of savings per year in all energy media and water – sums up Leszek Drogosz.

At this stage, the system will be managed by the Infrastructure Office itself. However, it is possible that in the future, when the currently implemented solution will cover hundreds of buildings, it will be necessary to establish a separate unit.