For (sustainable) heating and cooling of buildings, Aquifer thermal energy storage or so called ATES-systems, are very popular in Holland. A climate-conscious choice, because with a good functioning ATES an organization reduces the energy consumption as well as the CO2-emissions, which also leads to a large cost savings.
Monitoring for active control of your ATES
When a building has an ATES-system, it is naturally desired to use this in the most optimal way. The success of an ATES stands or falls firstly with a design which is tailored correctly to the building. Also it is a requirement that the operation is right. A good operation is ensured by active control and maintenance. Energy monitoring is an unmissable part of active control. Through the use of monitoring, the organization keeps the most optimal insight in the performance and the efficiency of the ATES. Monitoring is interesting for open ATES-systems which use the aquifer package in the ground, as well as closed ATES-systems. Also, monitoring for open ATES-systems is extra valuable with regards to the mandatory permit report.
On the image above you see an open ATES-system. In the winter and the summer the flow direction of the ground water system is reversed (on left summer, on right winter). In the winter season the warm water bel is pumped up from below the surface and the warm water is used for heating the building. In this process the water cools down. The cooled down water is brought underground with the help of the cold source. The cold water bel is getting bigger throughout the winter period. In the summer the flow direction of the ground water system is reversed and the cold water bel is used to cool the building, in this process the water is heated and with the help of the heat source directed towards the warm water bel below the surface.
Monitoring for a good operation of your ATES
In practice it is unfortunately very common that an ATES-installation, which exists from a configuration with a heat pump, doesn’t work as it should. This can have a negative impact on the underground part, as well as the part with exists within the building. Through the use of monitoring, you can guard the performance of your ATES and you can adjust the system in time, so that it keeps functioning correctly.
In order to gain insight different types of readings are required, think about flow-, temperature-, level- and pressure meters. The monitoring platform ErbisOne collects the data from these meters simply through the linked BMS (Building Management System), this happens despite the type of (brand) BMS which your building uses (for more info, read: Featured! ErbisOne: The platform for all your energy data). The imported data is checked and validated in the Data Management Center of ErbisOne, before this is processed into the ATES-dashboard into relevant insights. Besides the data from your ATES-system, ErbisOne also imports data regarding your energy procurement. This way you know what the impact is of your ATES-installation on your complete energy system.
The ATES-dashboard
HThe ATES-dashboard of ErbisOne provides an optimal insight into the functioning and efficiency of your ATES-system(s).
Basically, the module contains three different dashboards:
At this moment the final two parts are still in development to offer ErbisOne users the optimal insight in production and delivery. The mandatory part regarding the source is ready at the moment and already offers insight in more then 100 ATES-installations!
The ATES-source report
In the source report of the ATES-dashboard you have in one overview insight in the energy balance of the source and the most important KPI’s regarding your permit. In order to get the maximum performance out of your ATES-installation, it is important that your source is energetically balanced. With the help of the dashboard you have insight in this. In a clear graph the heat- and cold storage combined with the energy balance is shown. You can set this to one, five or ten years or from the date the ATES was installed. This way you can easily guard the energy balance of the source and prevent disbalance and thermal contamination. Preventing thermal contamination is the base for an optimal exploitation of your ATES-installation. The building bound delivery system during the summer and the winter, for respectively cooling and heating, has a large influence on this.
Monitoring because of the legal obligation
Besides gaining insight in the operation and performance of your ATES, there is the legal obligation to monitor ATES-systems. From the moment of operation, according to the Dutch water law, you are obliged to yearly hand over the replaced water- and energy amounts and the extraction- and infiltration temperatures. Also every 3 to 5 years you have to provide an evaluation at the Province regarding the influence on the ground water temperature, the efficiency and the savings and the energy balance in the surface. In order to prevent this yearly obligation to become a yearly burden, you can prevent this by actively monitoring your ATES-installation. This way you can easily ‘print-out’ your obligatory permit report. This saves you valuable time in periodically collecting and processing all required data in the required report. The report is always up-to-date and available automatically.
You can make your ATES permit report this easy
As the user of an ATES-installation you are legally required to share a permit report every year with your Province. The ATES-dashboard of ErbisOne certainly makes this easier. Especially if you have multiple ATES-installations in your control, but also for one ATES-installation creating the report is a very time consuming duty. With the dashboard you generate these reports with one press of the button. As you can see in the image below, you can’t only find the (mandatory) KPI’s, but also an export button. This generates a permit report very easily, which you then only have to share with the authorities
