Murmansk is the capital of the Kola Peninsula in the northwest of Russia. Situated close to the Arctic Ocean, the city is the major administrative, industrial and cultural centre above the Polar Circle. During the summer, you can enjoy endless daylight and mild breezes from the Barents Sea. Like any city with a population exceeding half a million, Murmansk offers all the attractions of city life – e.g. restaurants, shopping centres, museums, hotels, theatres and music halls. In the winter, the city lights offer a shimmering and almost magical contrast to the compact darkness outside the city.
Chimneys as symbols
The chimneys of power plants are now established as a characteristic of the Murmansk city skyline. In all, there are 13 boiler plants providing heat and electricity for housing and industry. They are operated by TEKOS, the local energy company, and they are indeed symbolizing the conditions of daily life in the Arctic city they serve. In spite of the adjacent Gulf Stream – which makes Murmansk the only non-freezing seaport in North-Western Russia – a reliable district heating system is an important development factor for the city. For good reasons, Murmansk is some-times called Capital of The Arctic.
The TEKOS company employs some 2400 people and operates a system comprising 75 boilers and more than 300 kilometres of pipe network. In 2004, TEKOS carried out a renovation project in order to find out to what extent individual heat substations normally used in Finland and Sweden could replace the existing Russian units. The purpose of this demo project was to improve the overall heating economy, to find solutions for efficient automated control and to maximize reliability.
The winning bid The Swedish Development Agency – SIDA – provided part of the funding. This included 30 factory made substations. After evaluation of four bidders, Cetetherm AB was declared winner and the delivery contract was signed on July 1, 2004. The substations were produced in Ronneby on the eastern coast of Sweden and were shipped to Murmansk by truck during the autumn. The local installation was handled by the skilful and experienced TEKOS staff and was finished towards the midst of December, when a training programme led by Cetetherm was started in order to instruct the TEKOS staff on the technical details concerning installation, control systems, maintenance, etc.
The next step All the 30 substations started operating in 2004, and the demo project will now be closely evaluated. The indications for success are several. Heat con-sumption is expected to be reduced by 15 percent and the new system provides a well-balanced heat distri-bution in the buildings. The most important difference is, that individual heat substations now separate the heating system of the buildings from the boiler and the heat piping network, thus providing a closed heating circuit for each building.
Climate conditions in Murmansk are quite similar to the ones in the northern parts of Sweden. Therefore, TEKOS remains confident that the Cetetherm substations provide the solution most suitable for the severe conditions of Murmansk. This standpoint is supported by the fact, that TEKOS has been using other Cetetherm products for some ten years now. At the moment, TEKOS is planning a major project to expand the utilization of individual heat stations on a close-circuit basis.
The substations assembled in Ronneby, Sweden, represent a new stage in the development of social and industrial life in Murmansk. Maybe, this is only a beginning…
Some vital facts
To be more specific concerning components and design we give some vital facts regarding each application (heating and hot tap water) within the Murmansk Area:
Heat Load
Hot tap water 276 kW
Heating 365 kW
Temperature parameters, °C
Hot tap water 70/30, 3/60
Heating 105/75, 70/90
Allowable pressure drop
Hot tap water 40/35 kPa
Heating 40/20kPa
Design pressure
16/10 bar
BHE type and no. of units
Hot tap water CB52H, 1 unit
Heating CB76H, 1 unit
Chimneys as symbols
The chimneys of power plants are now established as a characteristic of the Murmansk city skyline. In all, there are 13 boiler plants providing heat and electricity for housing and industry. They are operated by TEKOS, the local energy company, and they are indeed symbolizing the conditions of daily life in the Arctic city they serve. In spite of the adjacent Gulf Stream – which makes Murmansk the only non-freezing seaport in North-Western Russia – a reliable district heating system is an important development factor for the city. For good reasons, Murmansk is some-times called Capital of The Arctic.
The TEKOS company employs some 2400 people and operates a system comprising 75 boilers and more than 300 kilometres of pipe network. In 2004, TEKOS carried out a renovation project in order to find out to what extent individual heat substations normally used in Finland and Sweden could replace the existing Russian units. The purpose of this demo project was to improve the overall heating economy, to find solutions for efficient automated control and to maximize reliability.
The winning bid The Swedish Development Agency – SIDA – provided part of the funding. This included 30 factory made substations. After evaluation of four bidders, Cetetherm AB was declared winner and the delivery contract was signed on July 1, 2004. The substations were produced in Ronneby on the eastern coast of Sweden and were shipped to Murmansk by truck during the autumn. The local installation was handled by the skilful and experienced TEKOS staff and was finished towards the midst of December, when a training programme led by Cetetherm was started in order to instruct the TEKOS staff on the technical details concerning installation, control systems, maintenance, etc.
The next step All the 30 substations started operating in 2004, and the demo project will now be closely evaluated. The indications for success are several. Heat con-sumption is expected to be reduced by 15 percent and the new system provides a well-balanced heat distri-bution in the buildings. The most important difference is, that individual heat substations now separate the heating system of the buildings from the boiler and the heat piping network, thus providing a closed heating circuit for each building.
Climate conditions in Murmansk are quite similar to the ones in the northern parts of Sweden. Therefore, TEKOS remains confident that the Cetetherm substations provide the solution most suitable for the severe conditions of Murmansk. This standpoint is supported by the fact, that TEKOS has been using other Cetetherm products for some ten years now. At the moment, TEKOS is planning a major project to expand the utilization of individual heat stations on a close-circuit basis.
The substations assembled in Ronneby, Sweden, represent a new stage in the development of social and industrial life in Murmansk. Maybe, this is only a beginning…
Some vital facts
To be more specific concerning components and design we give some vital facts regarding each application (heating and hot tap water) within the Murmansk Area:
Heat Load
Hot tap water 276 kW
Heating 365 kW
Temperature parameters, °C
Hot tap water 70/30, 3/60
Heating 105/75, 70/90
Allowable pressure drop
Hot tap water 40/35 kPa
Heating 40/20kPa
Design pressure
16/10 bar
BHE type and no. of units
Hot tap water CB52H, 1 unit
Heating CB76H, 1 unit
