Author: Baiba Šelkovska, Communication Manager, Vidzeme Planning Region

On 17 December 2019, a training for technical staff and teachers was held at Alūksne City Pre-school Educational Institution “Pienenīte”, Latvia. The purpose of the training was to introduce the modernized heating system to the staff and to demonstrate how an energy consumption data monitoring system can help to improve the indoor climate.

Vidzeme Planning Region implements Alūksne City Kindergarten “Pienenīte” as a pilot project in the frame of LowTEMP. In summer 2019, construction work was carried out in the kindergarten heating unit room and, with the beginning of the heating season, the heat supply to several groups of rooms is provided in low-temperature mode. “This means that instead of the usual 70/50 degrees, the radiators flow 46/36 degrees. The control unit monitors the indoor temperature in the kindergarten building and controls the flow temperature in the radiators accordingly,” says Mārtiņš Kaļva from Vidzeme Planning Region and LowTEMP project expert in Latvia. Along with the modernization of the heat supply, a data monitoring system was installed to collect data on indoor temperature and humidity, heat, electricity and water consumption in the building. Data visualization makes it easy to view and compare indoor temperature fluctuations across different groups of rooms. Mārtiņš Kaļva continues: “We have adjusted the heat supply so that the indoor temperature is lower at night, on weekends and holidays. On working days at 5:30 in the morning, the system automatically starts raising the flow temperature in the radiators. At 7:00 am, the indoor temperature reaches 20 degrees. Several groups of rooms are located on the south side of the building and heat up much faster on sunny days. Collected data in October showed that in one of the groups at 9:00 am the indoor temperature reached 23 degrees. By 3:00 pm it was already 26 degrees, which can be even too warm. So the flow temperature in this group was reduced in the radiators. Such data analysis and control helps to provide the best indoor climate for kindergarten children and staff. “ In addition, Mārtiņš Kalva highlighted data from an installed CO2 sensor in a sports room that measures indoor air quality and reveals which parts of the day require more frequent ventilation.

The collected data can help to justify the necessary energy efficiency measures in the building and attract additional funding. In addition, the use of data provides accurate information on which systems (water, heat, electricity) operate efficiently over a specified period of time, as well as data analysis and energy efficiency solutions for specific groups of rooms. Alūksne municipality also participated in the training. The management and data monitoring system will be supervised by Aluksne district heating company “SIMONE”, involving Alūksne municipality in data analysis.

For more information: Līga Puriņa – Purīte, LowTEMP Project Manager in Vidzeme Planning Region, e-mail: liga.pp@vidzeme.lv

Photo credits: Vidzeme Planning Region, 2019