The Institute «SantekhNIIproekt» traces its history back to the «Design and Engineering Office» of the «Gossantekhmontazh» trust, created in 1927, and today is the leading research and design organization of Rosstroy of Russia for the formation of technical policy and engineering support for the design, operation and development of engineering networks, systems and structures.
Many years of experience in studying and generalizing domestic and foreign scientific achievements allows the institute's specialists to create engineering systems using energy-efficient and energy-saving technologies.
The use of these technologies in projects of engineering systems of buildings: the House of the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, the Art Gallery, the Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Stadium, the Moscow City Hall, the Moscow International House of Music, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Medical Complex named after
Burdenko and many other unique structures, — allows to reduce the costs of heat and electricity by 20%, reduce capital costs by 10-15% and ensure reliable maintenance of comfortable climatic conditions in the premises.
The institute's employees developed and successfully implemented a project for autonomous heat supply of the experimental residential area of Kurkino in Moscow for 920 thousand square meters of housing using energy-saving and energy-efficient technologies.
Despite Albert Yakubovich’s busy schedule, we managed to meet with him and discuss topics of interest to our readers.
– How is SantekhNIIproekt doing today?
– This year we are changing our form of ownership and are turning from a Federal State Unitary Enterprise into a Joint-Stock Company.
This change should not have a significant impact on our professional activities, and the main differences will be related to the preparation of reports and other bureaucratic work.
– How will SantekhNIIproekt’s relations with the state be built after you transform into a commercial organization?
– The Institute has never been dependent on the state.
We do not lose contact with the relevant department represented by Rosstroy and our cooperation on technical issues will continue, but Rosstroy itself has recently been less and less involved in scientific and technical policy.
On administrative management issues, we are subordinate to the Federal Property Management Agency and we must carry out all financial and economic activities through them, as this is defined in our Charter.
And in it, the commercial success of the enterprise comes first. We will survive and develop.
– What work is the institute doing now?
– Basically, we live by the same tasks and works as before: execution of design works on heat and gas supply systems, heating, ventilation, implementation of energy-efficient technologies, development of regulatory and technical documents. This year, we have completed two projects on reconstruction of existing boiler houses with organization of mini-CHP on their base. Half of the orders are state, the other half are commercial orders.
We are also finishing the Kurkino project and are carrying out work on heat supply of the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye development in the Moscow region.
In this project, we managed to implement the use of technological innovations that we laid down in Kurkino at the time.
In other areas of mass residential development in the Moscow region, unfortunately, we are unable to implement new energy-efficient technologies due to the position of regional authorities, who adhere to the old approach to organizing centralized heat supply, sometimes creating obstacles that are completely at odds with logic and technical and economic indicators.
– If we consider the example of the Kurkino district: what indicators were achieved thanks to the use of energy-efficient technologies?
– In the Kurkino project, we provided for the organization of autonomous heat supply.
«Kurkino» is a mass residential development area with a total area of 800 hectares.
In its 18 microdistricts, 920 thousand square meters of housing and about 450 thousand square meters of infrastructure facilities should be built.
Partially, the microdistricts were built with multi-story buildings, but there are also microdistricts with townhouses (cottage development).
The total estimated heat load of «Kurkino» was 142.2 MW.
– Initially, it was supposed to use centralized heat supply…
– Yes, but according to our calculations, when using centralized heat supply, only 50% of the thermal energy is used efficiently, and the rest is spent on abnormal heat losses (primarily through heating networks).
The energy efficiency coefficient of the centralized system in this case does not exceed 0.5.
The possibility of improving the energy efficiency coefficient of such a system, even with the adoption of very expensive measures, does not exceed 0.6–0.65 in relation to the “useful” heat used.
Housing connected to such a heat supply system loses its commercial attractiveness.
An alternative could be connection to autonomous heat supply sources, in which it is possible to use new technical solutions that allow for a significant reduction in losses during the generation, transportation, distribution and consumption of heat.
– That is, the main advantages of autonomous heat supply are based on the rejection of long main networks and the construction of mini-boiler houses?
– Not only in the construction of mini-boiler houses, but also due to the possibility of using new energy-saving technologies.
For example:
• transition to a new system of quantitative regulation of heat production at the source;
• efficient use of frequency-controlled drives on all pumps;
• reduction in the length of circulating heating networks and a decrease in their diameter;
• refusal to build central heating points;
• transition to a new system of individual heating points with quantitative and qualitative regulation depending on the current outside air temperature using multi-speed mixing pumps and three-way control valves;
• installation of control thermostats on heating devices in apartments;
• apartment-by-apartment distribution of heating systems with installation of individual heat consumption meters;
• automatic maintenance of constant pressure at hot water supply devices for consumers.
The use of these technologies in general allows for minimizing losses.
As a result, based on the results of the work in Kurkino, it can be noted that the length of the heating networks was reduced by 40.3 km, and capital investments in the heating networks decreased by 2.8 times.
At the same time, the amount of water used to feed the heating network decreased by more than 5 times.
The total cost of consumed heat was reduced by 1.5 times, and the total capacity of heat sources by 20%.
Annual heat production and annual fuel consumption were reduced by 25%.
– Was everything planned implemented in the Kurkino project?
– Unfortunately, the final result for “Kurkino” – an automated control system with the output of all parameters to the central control center, consumption control and automated calculations, is only now beginning to be implemented, although these solutions and ideology were laid down by us at the very beginning of the design (1998). But due to the lack of funds from the investor, time for this work was lost, therefore the dispatching and control system for all autonomous heat sources is only now being deployed, but I am confident that everything that was planned will be implemented.
Currently, about 30 automated heat sources have been built in Kurkino without the constant presence of service personnel. Today this is the norm, but in 1998-1999 there was a lack of trust in new technologies and solutions.
– What problems did you encounter with the implementation of a unified automation and dispatching system?
– The implementation of automation and dispatching is usually associated with financing problems, since these systems are quite expensive. The question arises, will the customer go for additional expenses? According to data from operating organizations, the absence of a dispatching system increases maintenance costs by at least 50%. Today, buildings for managing the operation of all Kurkino engineering systems are being built in Kurkino, where the personnel of OAO MOEK (Moscow United Energy Company) and GUP Mosgaz will be located. Ultimately, there is a task to connect all the engineering systems of the district together. However, this task is complicated today by the fact that individual developers of microdistricts are private companies, and it is not always possible to agree with everyone.
– What is the attitude of the Moscow Government to the experiment conducted in Kurkino?
– The Moscow Government’s reaction is positive, and when it is necessary to demonstrate advanced technologies in construction, all high-ranking guests are always taken to Kurkino. And autonomous heat supply is precisely one of the main attractions of this area.
At the moment, all engineering systems are being transferred to the management of OJSC MOEK, which will now be in charge of operation. In Kurkino, the construction of all energy sources and networks was carried out at the city's expense and, accordingly, they were owned by the city. Because of this, there were many reasons why private companies could not take over the management of the district's engineering communications.
– What other buildings were built using autonomous heat supply?
– We had only one large high-rise facility with an autonomous heat supply source – a rooftop boiler house in a residential building in Moscow on Selskokhozyaistvennaya Street. The next one – a high-rise building – is one of the buildings of the “New Ring of Moscow” program: it is supposed to provide all energy supply (heat supply, cooling supply) from an autonomous energy center, for which we are developing technical conditions for design and construction.
– Have you tried to calculate economically: under what conditions is it more profitable for the owner of the building to use autonomous energy supply rather than connect to the grid?
– The economy can be calculated only when all the input data is known and when it is correct. The cost of resources is not economically justified today. As long as all energy resources in our country are cheap, and the costs of implementing energy-efficient technologies are not profitable for the investor, it is very difficult to economically calculate the profitability of such projects. However, there is a high fee for connecting to the grid. And this is where you can compare the cost of connecting to the grid and the cost of building an energy center. Based on the capacity of 1 kW, these figures are comparable. In the case of his own energy center, the owner of the building is more interested, since then he will be able not only to cover his energy consumption needs, but also get the opportunity to earn money, that is, the energy center becomes an investment tool in his hands.
– How is the construction of energy centers implemented in practice?
– There are enough requests for the construction of autonomous energy sources on the market. In practice, not so many of them are implemented, and first of all, due to serious investments in such projects. Not all owners are ready to invest money. However, at present, it can be stated that the process of building energy centers has entered a new phase of more active growth.
– What is the average payback period for an autonomous heat supply source?
– Even rough calculations show that if an autonomous power source operates in the base load and sells the surplus, the payback period is 2–3 years. And if it operates only for its own needs, the period increases accordingly to 5–6 years. This is subject to current electricity prices and without taking into account the cost of connecting to existing networks. Therefore, the implementation of all modern energy-efficient technologies faces a problem associated with energy resources: on the one hand, the resources themselves are cheap, but connecting to them is expensive.
– How will energy saving technologies develop in the future?
– A large field of activity for energy saving, especially regarding saving electric energy, is connected with the refusal to use electric energy for cooking in residential buildings. If electric stoves are removed from high-rise residential buildings, the total power consumption of the house for electricity will decrease by about 2 times.
– What should be used instead of electric stoves? Gas stoves?
— Yes, to supply gas, even to high-rise residential buildings. Unfortunately, the regulations adopted in our country half a century ago allow the use of gas for cooking in buildings only up to 10 stories high, which is an obstacle today.
We are currently designing a 25-story apartment building in Sochi, where there is a problem with the shortage and reliability of electricity supply. As an experiment, we want to use gas stoves in this project. The fact is that the building will have individual heating, that is, gas will be supplied to each of the 25 floors for individual boilers, and it would be logical to use gas stoves in the building.
In addition, if electric stoves are used in the building, this electricity must still be supplied, transformer stations must be built, and this is an additional cost for the investor. In the case of gas stoves, the owner does not bear these costs, since gas is already supplied to the apartment for heating.
If we calculate the cost of gas today at world prices ($240/1000 m3), even in this case the end consumer will find the cost of using a gas stove 2.5 times more profitable than using an electric stove. And if we simply compare tariffs within the country for electricity and gas, the benefit increases to 10 times.
– What body issues permits for the implementation of such solutions?
– Today, according to the provisions of the Urban Development Code, the main body that can permit or prohibit the use of such a solution is the expert body, which is guided only by current regulations. The issue can only be resolved at the federal level, and we are trying to do this.
The situation with regulatory documents in our country is complicated. After the entry into force of the law «On Technical Regulation», the old system of standards no longer exists, and new technical regulations have not been prepared. But, despite this, a number of government agencies still adhere to standards that are half a century old.
For example, organizing control over the operating parameters of a gas stove today does not present any problem. Gas leak detectors, gas-controlled stoves, gas meters, electronic valves – all this equipment can ensure normal operation of gas stoves in buildings of any number of storeys.
Modern automation will be able to control and cut off the gas supply in the event of an emergency.
In fact, the limitation in the existing standards (the use of gas stoves in buildings only up to 10 storeys) was justified by the fact that at the time when these standards were developed, there were no automation and dispatching systems.
If we manage to pass the examination of the Sochi project, then this will be the first high-rise residential building in our country with individual heating and gas stoves.
In this case, we promise to prepare a separate article for your publication.
We thank Albert Yakubovich for the interview and are confident that our readers will soon have the opportunity to learn about new developments and completed projects of the institute.