Controlling the flow enables a sustainable and efficient network

Borås Energi och Miljö provides sustainable solutions in energy, waste collection, recycling, water, and waste water, with a strong focus on accessibility - meaning services shall be easy to understand, use, and access for all customers. The company works with energy refinement to support a fossil-free society and to create a sustainable circular city. Through research, education, and the development of skills and operations, Borås Energi och Miljö plays a key role in driving local and regional development.

Today, Borås Energi och Miljö AB has approximately 900 installations of flow limitation in its district heating network and around 70 district cooling customers.

The Challenge

Borås Energi och Miljö wanted to take the next step in optimizing its distribution network – both to meet future demands and to ensure sustainable, efficient operations. By being able to control customer flow rates, new opportunities arise to connect additional customers, reduce energy losses, and operate the plant in a more resource-efficient way.

The control function is used for both district heating and district cooling, but it is most critical in the cooling network. Here, a temperature deviation of just 2 degrees can impact capacity by as much as 40% of the network’s total capacity – a significant difference in efficiency.

To address these challenges, Borås Energi och Miljö AB needed a solution that optimized customer consumption and created a more efficient and balanced demand pattern.

The Solution 

By implementing Elvaco’s solution for flow limitation and power control, Borås Energi och Miljö is able to fully utilize the potential of its network. Existing energy meters for district heating and district cooling are complemented with Elvaco’s CMe2100 LTE, CMeX30, control valve, and actuator. Using these products and the 4–20 mA outputs, the flow through the valve can be efficiently limited. 

CMe2100 LTE is an advanced M-Bus Metering Gateway capable of reading data from up to 256 M-Bus/wM-Bus meters. The collected data is compiled into customized reports and transmitted to the receiving systems via the mobile 4G (LTE) network. CMe2100 LTE stands out due to its maximum compatibility and ease of configuration. It is equipped with an IR interface that enables communication with products from Elvaco’s CMe/CMeX series without the need for cabling, making it easy to connect to the CMeX30 D/A converter, which requires no configuration and is ready for use immediately upon delivery. 

Results and Customer Testimonial 

“By complementing existing meters with control equipment, we minimize the number of devices in the field and take advantage of the meters and sensors that are already installed,” explains Christer Sandberg, Metering Technician. “The advantage of the CMe2100 LTE is that we can remotely control which limit values the unit should be set to.”

The result is a system that both improves network utilization and creates capacity to connect additional customers. The control function promotes close collaboration between customer and supplier, contributing to a more sustainable city.“The outcome of controlling customer installations aligns with Borås’ sustainability approach of creating efficient customer systems and efficient networks,” says Marcus Dalbrekt, Metering Manager.

The control function is used for both district heating and district cooling, but it is particularly important in the cooling network, where a temperature deviation of just 2 degrees can correspond to 40% of the total volume of the entire district cooling network. “By controlling customer consumption, instead of allowing unrestricted use of the network, capacity shortages can be prevented,” explains Andreas Carlsson, Energy Services Manager. “With unrestricted usage, pressure and flow would be higher in all substations. This function is just as important for those of us managing the distribution network as billing is for our finance department.”

By offering this service, customers are given the opportunity to actively influence their total district heating costs – while at the same time improving network performance and sustainability.

Borås Energi och Miljö AB is satisfied with Elvaco’s solution, which forms an integral part of its work towards a sustainable city.

From left: Christer Sandberg, Marcus Dalbrekt