The battle for heat in the light of building automation..

In the Sverdlovsk region, funding for energy saving programs is being increased. As part of the project, USTU-UPI proposes to prohibit the connection to heating networks of buildings built in violation of heat resource saving standards. The Minister of Energy and Housing and Public Utilities of the region, Yuri Shevelev, and the head of the Department of Energy Conservation at USTU-UPI, Nikolai Danilov, spoke about this. From 2009 to 2011, 264 million rubles will be allocated for activities in this industry. The economic effect of the new stage of the program is estimated at more than 80 million rubles annually. For comparison, the energy saving program of 2006-2008 required about 120 million rubles. The economic effect from it amounted to 40 million rubles. USTU-UPI proposes to solve the problem of wasteful use of energy resources in its own way. “A group of deputies from the State Duma is preparing to arrive in the Sverdlovsk region. We will invite them to adopt a direct law: if a building is built incorrectly, do not connect it to heating networks. Let the developer keep it as a souvenir,” said Nikolai Danilov. In the coming three years, as part of the energy saving program, the installation of electricity meters will continue. The Energy Saving Institute has begun developing new standard heat metering units that will appear in existing buildings. New heat saving technologies will also be used in renovations of apartment buildings.

MUPEP «Omskelektro» has developed a program to reduce electricity losses. It provides for the reconstruction of the power supply system and the installation of more than one and a half thousand meters. The company plans to direct its own resources for these purposes, approximately one fifth of which will come from consumer funds. The Omsk City Council Committee on Housing and Communal Services reviewed the investment program of the MUPEP «Omskelektro» for the development of power supply systems until 2010. The director of the enterprise, Sergei Nesterenko, told deputies that the program was developed by order of the city administration. The main objectives chosen are the phased reconstruction of the power supply system, improving the quality of services provided, as well as “reducing excess electricity losses by introducing an automated system for commercial electricity metering.” To implement the latter, it is necessary to install more than one and a half thousand meters in two years in three development zones of Omsk — left bank, northern and southern, and this will mainly affect private sector houses. According to Sergei Nesterenko, the “issue price” is 132 million rubles, of which 108 million are Omskelektro’s own funds, which are planned to be used for the reconstruction of the power supply system. To install automated systems for commercial electricity metering not only in private houses, but also in apartment buildings: 400 million rubles will be required, which the enterprise is clearly not able to do now, noted Sergei Nesterenko, director of the Omskelektro MUPEP. The deputies were inspired by the problem and recommended that the City Council take the issue “for consideration.” The program will be submitted to the next meeting of the OCG.

In Moscow, until 2014, 180.9 billion rubles will be allocated for the implementation of the city energy saving program. This information was announced by the head of the Municipal Services Complex, Petr Biryukov. According to the official, the implemented program should pay for itself in two to three years. And by 2013, the funds saved through energy saving will reach 100 billion rubles. Among the measures taken to save energy are the insulation of building facades, the introduction of energy-saving technologies in urban transport, and social advertising. “Only by insulating facades you can save up to 30% of heat resources,” summarizes Peter Biryukov.

I just want to say, looking at the figures for energy saving costs and heat savings: “Feel the difference,” in the sense that in the capital the bill is in the billions, and in Siberia in the millions, but it’s not about the possibilities, but about how these opportunities are used. About the approach to heat conservation. But for now he is alone everywhere, whether in Siberia with its frosts and limited financial capabilities, or in Moscow with moderate cold and a considerable city budget — to insulate and count. The symbol of this approach was outlined by the head of the Department of Energy Conservation at USTU-UPI Nikolai Danilov, who recalled Rodin’s “The Thinker”: “A naked man, sitting with his bare bottom on a bare stone and thinking only about how to keep warm.” The first thought is to warm yourself. But it’s more economical to save heat not when it’s left to chance, but when you manage it. You can save significantly on insulation if you connect automation to the process. With savings on lighting, officials seem to have sensed the situation: for better or worse, but they began to install motion and light sensors in their programs so that the light bulbs would shine for the purpose, and not burn in vain. But it’s not only possible to count heat. Heat also needs to be managed. Building automation should not only be used in the format of automated heat metering, but also automated management of this heat should be established.