On 8 January, Mr. Günther Weiß, Chief Technology Officer of the Offenbach energy supplier EVO, visited SAMSON AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT to discuss the use of cloud-based asset management systems to optimize the distribution and supply of heating resources in district heating networks.
Three years ago, the energy supplier started field tests in cooperation with SAMSON to network the district heating transfer stations installed in buildings on the harbor island and Marina Gardens district in Offenbach. The objective was to obtain an overview of the heating system and increase energy efficiency.
The smart, dynamic wireless SAM-LAN network is fitted with 27 SAM-LAN gateways and three repeaters to connect 27 heat meters and 30 district heating controllers in the house substations over unlicensed radio frequency bands. The gateways and the frequency bands used are tuned to ensure that long transmission ranges can easily be overcome and stable communication networks can be set up, even from basements with poured concrete walls. A central aggregation node collects the encrypted data and acts as the interface to SAM DISTRICT ENERGY, SAMSON’s cloud-based asset management system.
Mr. Marcel Kratz, technical operations manager at EVO, comments: “The use of SAM-LAN technology gives us an overview of our plants. By cooperating with SAMSON, we have been able to address certain topics, such as fault management, plant optimization and remote metering.”
Mr. Weiß, CTO of EVO, was also impressed by the improved level and quality of control of the district heating networks and their output, which is made possible by the tightly meshed data collection, data transfer to and data visualization in SAM DISTRICT ENERGY. The resulting potential for optimization and increasing energy efficiency is particularly relevant to reduce carbon emissions.
Eight house substations in the new Goethequartier district in Offenbach are currently being integrated into the wireless SAM-LAN network. Thanks to the outstanding service provided by SAMSON, plans are being made to extend the network to also include Büsing Palais and Klingspor Museum.