Written by: Ville Ylänne
Hyvinkään Lämpövoima Oy, located just 50km north of Helsinki, has been a leading district heating provider in Finland since 1974, boasting a network of more than 1900 connections and serving over 12,000 homes. With more than 80% of the residents of Hyvinkää living in district-heated homes, the company has a proud tradition of providing reliable and cost-effective heating solutions to the community.
In early 2020, the company began using Fluidit Heat, a powerful software tool that enables them to gain a deeper understanding of their network and make more informed decisions about investments and renovations. Network engineer Mikko Kivistö has been the driving force behind the adoption of the software, using it to make detailed simulations, analyses, and evaluations of their network.
One of the key benefits of Fluidit Heat is the ability to evaluate WHAT-IF scenarios, enabling the company to explore a wide range of possible outcomes and identify potential problems before they occur. By using the software, the company has been able to better understand how their network behaves, identifying issues such as pressure drops that they were previously unaware of. This has helped them to be more prepared for emergencies and to make more informed decisions about investments and renovations.
In fact, the use of Fluidit Heat has already resulted in significant savings in investment costs. In one renovation project, the company was able to determine that they could use pipes that were three dimensions smaller than they had initially planned, resulting in substantial savings in material and transportation expenses. In the coming year, they plan to use the software to determine the right size for a 300 diameter district heating pipeline, with the potential to save even more.
Despite having only two users for the software so far, the company is looking to expand its use and utilize its benefits elsewhere. The visualizations and analysis tools are particularly impressive, allowing Mikko and his colleagues to visualize results in a practical and intuitive way. While the software has some impracticalities, its usability is constantly improving, making it an essential tool for the company’s ongoing success.
Overall, Hyvinkään Lämpövoima Oy’s adoption of Fluidit Heat has been a resounding success, enabling them to make more informed decisions, identify potential issues before they become problems, and save significant amounts of money in the process. As they continue to explore new applications and use cases for the software, the company is poised to maintain its position as a leading district heating provider in Finland for many years to come.
Learn more about Fluidit Heat here.