Successful monitoring of ATES-installations
For the (sustainable) heating and cooling of buildings, heat cold storage systems, or ATES systems, are very popular in the Netherlands. A climate-conscious choice, because with a well-functioning ATES, an organization reduces both energy consumption and CO2 emission, which also leads to considerable cost savings.
Monitoring for active management of your ATES
When a building is equipped with a ATES system, it is of course desirable to use this in the best possible way. The success of a ATES stands or falls first and foremost with a design that is well tailored to the building. In addition, it is a requirement that the operation is good. Proper operation is ensured by active management and maintenance. Energy monitoring is an indispensable part of active management. With the use of monitoring, the organization maintains optimal insight into the performance and return of the ATES. Monitoring is interesting for both open ATES systems in which the aquifer in the ground is used, as well as closed systems. In addition, monitoring for open ATES systems is extra valuable for the purpose of mandatory permit reporting.
The image above shows an open ATES system. In winter and summer, the direction of the flow of the groundwater system is reversed (summer on the left, winter on the right). In the winter season, the hot water bubble is pumped up from the underground and the warm water is used to heat the building. In this process, the water cools down. The cooled water is introduced into the subsurface with the help of the cold source. The cold water bubble gets bigger and bigger during the winter period. In summer, the flow direction of the groundwater system is reversed and the cold water bubble is used to cool the building, the water is heated in this process and discharged to the hot water bubble in the ground with the help of the heat source.
Monitoring for the proper functioning of your ATES
Unfortunately, in practice, it is still common for a ATES installation, consisting of a configuration with a heat pump, not to work properly. This can have a detrimental effect on both the underground part and the building bound part. With the use of monitoring, you monitor the performance of your ATES and you can adjust your installation in time so that it continues to work properly.
To gain insight, various measurements are necessary, such as flow, temperature, level and pressure meters. The monitoring platform ErbisOne easily collects the data from these meters from the linked BMS (building management system), this happens regardless of the type (brand) of BMS that your building uses (Read for more info: Featured! ErbisOne: The platform for all your energy data). The data is checked and validated in ErbisOne's Data Management Center before being processed into relevant insights in the ATES dashboard. In addition to the data from your ATES installation, ErbisOne also reads data related to your purchase energy. This way you know what the impact of your ATES installation is on your entire energy system.
The ATES Dashboard
The ATES dashboard of ErbisOne provides optimal insight into the functioning and profitability of your ATES installation(s).
Basically, the module consists of three different dashboards:
- A dashboard of the source (required by law);
- A dashboard of the delivery system;
- And a dashboard focused on production;
At the moment, the last two components are still under development to offer ErbisOne users the optimal insight into production and delivery. The legally required part regarding the source is ready and currently provides insight into more than a hundred ATES installations!
The ATES source report
In the source report of the ATES dashboard, you have insight into the energy balance of the source and the most important KPIs related to your permit at a glance.
In order to get the most out of your ATES installation in the long term, it is important that your source is energetically balanced. With the help of the dashboard, you have insight into this. The heat and cold storage in combination with the energy balance are displayed in a clear chart. If desired, this can be set to one, five or ten year or from the commissioning of the ATES. In this way, you can easily monitor the energy balance of the source and prevent imbalance and thermal contamination. The prevention of thermal contamination is the basis for optimal operation of your ATES installation. The building-related delivery system during the summer and winter, for cooling and heating respectively, has a major influence on this.
Monitoring for the purpose of legal obligation
In addition to gaining insight into the operation and performance of your ATES, there is a legal obligation to monitor ATES. From the moment of operation, you are obliged under the Water Act to annually declare the displaced water and energy quantities and the extraction and infiltration temperature. In addition, you must submit an evaluation to the province every 3 to 5 year with regard to, among other things, the influence on the groundwater temperature, the efficiency and savings and the energy balance in the soil. To prevent this legal obligation from becoming a recurring burden, you can get ahead of it by actively monitoring your ATES installation. This allows you to 'print' your legally required permit report in no time at all. This saves you valuable time in periodically collecting and processing all the necessary data in the required report. The report is available up-to-date and automated at all times!
This is how easy it is to make your ATES permit reporting
As the operator of a ATES installation, you are required by law to share an annual permit report with your province. ErbisOne's ATES dashboard will help you do just that. Especially if you have several ATES installations under your management, but even with one ATES, drawing up the report is a very time-consuming job. With the dashboard, you can generate these reports at the touch of a button. Here you will not only find all (legally required) KPIs, but you will also find an export button. This makes it easy to generate a permit report, which you only have to share with the competent authority.