For the holiday resorts in the Caribbean island state, energy costs linked to air conditioning constitute a major entry in the operating budget. Cheaper and more sustainable solutions are therefore in great demand, and district cooling is an attractive option. CEPM, the local energy company in the Dominican Republic, runs a CHP station. In addition to generating electricity, the company also utilises the surplus heat from the process.Instead of allowing the heat to disappear into the air or the sea, the operator transfers it – in the form of water at a temperature of 120 °C – to nearby hotels via a network of pipes.

Using absorption chillers, the hot water is converted into pleasant cooling, while a small portion is led through heat exchangers where it turns into domestic hot water. With temperatures in the summer regularly surpassing 35°C, hotel guests demand air conditioning in their rooms – but also appreciate hot water for their showers. It is therefore a real bonus that surplus heat from the CHP plant can be used to replace local air conditioning systems and hot water supplies at the associated hotels. In fact, this results in annual savings of fully 40,000 MWh, which corresponds to 9,500 tonnes of fuel oil. Th environment is the real winner here, because the reduced oil consumption also cuts carbon emissions by 28,000 tonnes per year. For the project, the local authority decided to install a system consisting of 12 km of preinsulated pipes from LOGSTOR.

Preinsulated pipe systems are a new product and, indeed, a new concept in the Caribbean. The decision about components and design was therefore taken on the basis of a desire to keep the installation as simple as possible. An E-Comp design was chosen, which reduces the total pipe run and the number of bends required. The casing joints used were BX joints, which were chosen because they are made of insulation half-shelves, simple to fit in a single work process and can be installed without requiring specialist tools. This meant that LOGSTOR technicians could quickly and easily train the local fitters on site. The pipes were delivered with sensor wires embedded in the insulation along the full extent of the pipe run. In future, constant measurement will quickly identify any water that penetrates the insulation on account of a leak in the pipes, so the problem can be dealt with before the system suffers serious damage.

LOGSTOR delivered:

  • 12,000 m of preinsulated pipes in sizes DN 200 to DN 350, of which the majority were DN 350
  • BX joints
  • On-site training of fitters in how to handle the LOGSTOR system and how to install casing joints.
  • Installed and brought online in 2012

For additional information, contact:

Tommy Lorenzen
Area Sales Manager, LOGSTOR
Email: tol@logstor.com

Jean Laganiere
Urecon
LOGSTOR’s representative in Canada and the United States
Email: j.laganiere@urecon.com