The largest solar collector system in Vidzeme region
Object type: Preschool educational institution
Location: Cesis city
Address: 5th pre-school educational institution, Kronvalda Street 35, Cesis, Latvia
Application: Swimming pool and water heating
Solar collector area: 145.95 m2
Solar unit power: 102.31kW
Swimming pool: 60m2
System: Thermo | Solar 72 pcs. TS300 flat solar thermal collectors, 2 HSK2000 hygienic storage tanks, 4 KN3 heat exchangers, etc. elements.
Implemented: July 2012 / with CCFI 75% co-financing.
Initially, in the 5th pre-school educational institution (kindergarten) of Cēsis, heat energy for heating water and swimming pool was provided by the city's district heating supplier. However, it turned out to be relatively expensive, so Cēsis City Council was looking for an opportunity to provide the necessary heat for the institution and children, saving the city funds. As a result of the research, a decision was made to install a solar collector system, which in the period from spring to autumn would maximally relieve the kindergarten from the supply of relatively expensive heat. In turn, during the rest of the time - in the darkest months of autumn and spring (as well as partly in the winter) - the solar system would operate with the support of district heating.
A total of 72 solar collectors with a total area of 145.95 m2 were installed, which is the largest solar collector system built in 2015 in Vidzeme region. Initially, the solar collectors were to be installed on the roof of the kindergarten extension. However, the specialists of "sauleskolektors.lv", assessing the strength of the load-bearing structures, managed to persuade the customer to change the technical solution and place the solar collectors so that it would not endanger the safety and life of children or teachers.
At the same time, the existing hot water supply system was put in order. Therefore, hot water also appeared in building blocks where children were forced to wash their hands in cold or electrically heated water due to pre-existing water supply problems. Also, thanks to the solar system, the temperature of the swimming pool stabilized, because until then (mainly due to high costs) the temperature of the water in the pool was provided only a few hours a day. All of these improvements today allow for a more efficient use of the kindergarten pool, as well as more flexibility for educators to plan the time their children spend in swimming lessons.
The heating network operator also welcomes the possibility created by the installed solar collectors to avoid the disproportionate losses of small heat supply typical for the summer period, as from 1 May to 15 September the kindergarten is completely disconnected from the city's district heating routes. During this period, the heat required to heat the water and the swimming pool is fully provided thanks to the installed solar collector system.