Completion of the project for the housing cooperative in Bielsk Podlaski

CONSTRUCTION OF A WATER HEATING SYSTEM USING HEAT PUMPS AND PHOTOVOLTAICS FOR A HOUSING COOPERATIVE IN BIELSK PODLASKI

is the largest WES implementation in the “ENERGY” area so far. Thanks to this, the Cooperative has a self-sufficient, renewable energy source and on July 1 this year they disconnected from the power supply of the Municipal Thermal Energy Company in Bielsk Podlaski.

WES partners in the project implementation were:  “WIST” Halina Wysocka and “Stream” Michał Wysocki

Our company was responsible for assembly and installation works of heat pumps and electrical installations powering the heat pumps – we installed 62 heat pumps with a total power of 798 kW in 22 multi-family buildings.

Photo: archive of  Housing Cooperative in Bielsk Podlaski

Our special achievement is our own automation and control system

The biggest challenge in my area, was managing communication between the installed devices and the client. The difficulty was collecting data from many types of devices – heat meters, flow meters, photovoltaic installations. This data was used to create control algorithms based on current energy production and hot water consumption. We created hot water consumption profiles for all 22 buildings – we approached each one individually, because each of them has a different profile. Another has a building inhabited mostly by seniors, and another one is inhabited by working people and families with children. Depending on the building profile, the system controls the operation of pumps and PV installations based on automated schedules.
As a result of our work, completely new, built from scratch:

• server application (back-end)
• web application (front-end) for remote control of the entire system
• software on heat pump controllers
• communication support

We placed great emphasis on security – we use secure communication protocols. The control panel in the web application gives the customer a full view of information about all installations and the ability to set pump operating schedules.

Krzysztof Sawicki – Deputy Technical Director at WES

Cezary Szerszenowicz, Vice-President of the Housing Cooperative in Bielsk Podlaski, using the application to control the heat pump system
Photo: archive of  Housing Cooperative in Bielsk Podlaski

In the process of creating the automation and control system, a lot of programming work was crucial

This required support from specialists from other departments.

I was responsible for developing and implementing system control scripts that enable automation of monitoring and optimization of system operation. The biggest programming challenge was ensuring the stability and reliability of these scripts under changing operating conditions. This required precise adaptation of the algorithms to the specific needs of the system. Additional challenges included ensuring smooth integration of various system components and optimizing script performance to minimize system resource consumption. My work directly translated into improved efficiency and stability of this system.

Łukasz Wysocki – Head of the Network Modeling Department at WES

There was designed a hybrid system – combination of photovoltaic installations and heat pumps. Thanks to this, part of the energy is obtained from the sun, and a much larger part from heat pumps. In case of shortages of solar energy production, the Cooperative supports itself with electricity from the grid.

The pumps operate in a cascade – in each building, instead of one high-power pump, three pumps are installed, working alternately.

Photo:  WES archive

The installation work itself took approximately 7 months and was performed by our team of engineers and technicians

In the early phase of the project, I was responsible for preparing a prototype of control boxes for automation, products and solutions that will allow the implementation of the adopted assumptions. Then there was a phase of tests and preparations for “mini-series” production. Once in the field, I worked closely with our installation team during equipment assembly and installation. In the final phase of the project, there were more tasks – daily contact and support of subcontractor teams. I was also responsible for planning and implementing the electrical installation, supply of selected materials, work progress on subsequent buildings and final commissioning of the installation.
The challenge was the intensity of the work – at certain moments I had to be in several places at once, simultaneously doing my job and having intensive conversations on the phone.

As an installation team, we focused on independence – everyone was given specific long-term tasks and performed them alone, which eliminated distraction. As a team, together with Przemek, Bartek and Adrian, we can be proud of ourselves – we often performed completely new activities with very positive results. My colleagues are very independent and brave, they have acquired many skills and experience required in this industry. Despite difficult moments, the work progressed with a really good ending.

Maciej Zakrzewski – Head of the Energy Department at WES

Photo: WES archive

synchronizing complex conceptual, programming and installation works was a particular challenge for the manager of this project

As an engineer, I consider the implementation of the investment in the construction of hybrid water heating systems to be a great technical and organizational challenge. At the same time, it was a real pleasure due to the group of companies participating in this project.

GOOD COOPERATION OF CONSORTIUM MEMBERS IS THE BASIS FOR EFFICIENT IMPLEMENTATION OF TASKS

As Michał Wysocki from “Stream” used to say – there are no problems, only challenges. Of course, these challenges were manifold. Starting from the weather and ending with technical aspects. We had no influence on the weather, and there are, will be, technical problems and so far we have always managed to solve them to the benefit of our clients. And this is possible thanks to the team of specialists working at WES.

OUR EMPLOYEES ARE TOP CLASS SPECIALISTS IN THEIR AREAS

I am especially proud of their creativity in solving all kinds of problems. Thanks to their commitment and professionalism, we are a company capable of meeting the biggest challenges.
It should be emphasized that the investment in Bielsk Podlaski was possible to be implemented, largely thanks to the determination and professionalism of the Cooperative’s Management Board.

TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYZES AND ENERGY AUDITS PREPARED BY THE COOPERATIVE HAVE CLEARLY INDICATED THE REASONABILITY OF THIS TYPE OF INVESTMENT.

The technical effects – energy savings, and economic effects – financial savings, demonstrated in these documents indicate that this type of investment in multi-family buildings is absolutely justified and even necessary nowadays. Only by implementing such investments can the expected energy savings be achieved and, as a result, measurable economic savings can be achieved. Of course, it is necessary that this investment is not carried out on the principle – we will buy and install heat pumps and everything will be great. Here you need the right idea to make the installed technology as effective as possible. Hence, the technical requirements created by SM in Bielsk Podlaski focused, on the one hand, on appropriately selected heat pumps and PV systems, but above all on the automation system connecting the two systems into one coherent hybrid system. All this was the basis for the success of this investment. Our “merit” as WES was that, thanks to our experience in implementing this type of investment, we were able to cope with the tasks set by the contractor. At the same time, we were able to supplement and develop the functionality expected by the Ordering Party.

Our original control system perfectly met the expectations of the SM in Bielsk Podlaski

Thanks to the scalability of our solutions, we are sure that we have prepared our system to support a variety of systems. We are not afraid of the problem of scale, we are able to handle virtually any number of facilities in any location. We install and manage various solutions in the area of ​​heat pumps, PV, peripheral devices and actuators cooperating in this type of systems. Thanks to well-thought-out algorithms, we can recommend our proprietary software to any housing cooperative – simply, as the authors of this type of systems, we are able to adapt our product to the expectations of any customer.
Experience in implementation, installation of devices and integration of systems is our undoubted strength. Our employees, their knowledge, commitment and ability to take unconventional actions are our strength. We combine water and electricity, finding benefits rather than threats.

Adam Chmielewski – Energy Director at WES, Project Manager

According to information from the Vice-President of the Cooperative, Mr. Cezary Szerszenowicz, the investment, excluding interest on the loan, will be returned to the Cooperative after five or six years. To finance it, half of the amount of savings obtained thanks to it is spent by SM on the repayment of the loan, and the other half remains in the residents’ wallets.

The authorities of SM in Bielsk Podlaski openly share their experiences with representatives of other cooperatives and housing communities. Everyone is generally amazed by the high level of implementation of this project.

“Słońce na etacie” (eng. “sun at work”)

read the article about the project (in polish) on the Budownictwo i Architektura Podlasie portal run by the Podlasie District Chamber of Construction Engineers: LINK

Do you want to implement similar solutions? LET’S TALK!

Adam Chmielewski
Energy Director
president
A.CHMIELEWSKI@WES.INFO.PL

+ 48 669 124 698