Intelligent snow melting reduces costs at Ullevaal Stadion

Ullevaal Stadion is operated by the real estate company Eiendomshuset Malling & Co. The company manages over 2.5 million square metres of commercial real estate on behalf of Norwegian and international property owners, and aims to revolutionise the operation of commercial real estate with technology that leads to measurable gains.

Before the 2020/2021 winter season, Guard Automation installed a new intelligent control system that ensures the area around the national arena remains free of snow and ice.

”Previously there was only one snow detector in the ground that decided whether the heating system should start melting snow. This is a common solution, but not optimal, because the heat is only turned on after the snow has fallen, and then at full blast across the entire system. This leads to unnecessary energy consumption,” begins Robert Skramstad, who heads the technology department at Eiendomshuset Malling & Co.

”The new solution uses prediction to automate and optimise snow and ice melting. Now we are always ahead of the cold and snowfall,” Skramstad smiles, adding that the technology controls the heat load for approximately 6,000 square metres of pedestrian areas and driving zones.

”It is critical that the area around Ullevaal Stadion remains free of snow and ice. Here we have shops, office spaces, a hotel and goods delivery, among other things. The system is also not negatively affected by local weather conditions around the building mass. This was previously a problem when we only had one snow detector.”

Sourcing energy from an advanced energy centre

Skramstad explains that Ullevaal Stadion has one of the most advanced energy centres for commercial buildings in Norway, where, among other things, six huge ammonia heat pumps supply energy to the national arena and associated facilities.

”The energy centre provides, among other things, energy for heating the ground. Even though we produce our own heating, we want the operation to be as stable and efficient as absolutely possible. If we did not produce our own energy, highly expensive peak demand charges would occur on cold, snowy days.”

The ground heating system can draw as much as 2.3 MW from the energy centre when needed.

”These are enormous amounts of energy, which shows the importance of having good control. The technology from Guard contributes to more stable and even energy production, as well as efficient snow melting when needed,” says Skramstad.

Division Manager at Guard Automation, Jon Egil Ek, explains that Ullevaal Stadion is among the first facilities in Norway with the state-of-the-art solution Guard Street Smart. The company has long developed systems for critical infrastructure.

”It is a major feather in our cap that the solution is installed at Ullevaal Stadion with its complex energy centre. In the future we hope to be able to shave peak loads, reduce energy consumption and lower costs for other commercial buildings,” says Ek, illustrating how the solution works:

”Guard Street Smart requires neither heavy installations nor large investments. We connect a brain to the existing heating system. The brain communicates with the cloud to predict and optimise the heating system that melts the snow.”

Guard has collaborated with astrophysicists to develop calculation models based on weather data and the thermodynamics of the system.

”With these models we can predict heating in the best possible way and completely without sensors,” Ek continues.

The system analyses weather data such as solar and wind conditions, temperature and cloud cover, and calculates how much energy is required. The goal is to use as little energy as possible for heating while maintaining safe and good conditions.

Fast installation without sensors

Skramstad explains that installing a new, old-fashioned snow detector in the ground would have been both expensive and complicated.

”We would have had to cut slots into the ground to insert one or more snow sensors between the heating loops, and the heat load would have been as before: uneven, full blast and lagging behind, which would have led to unnecessary energy consumption. The fact that the solution from Guard is sensor-free is therefore a big plus because the installation is flexible and goes relatively quickly,” says Skramstad, who combines operational and technological expertise to create measurable gains in the operation of commercial property.

Great need for better control

Ek at Guard Automation believes there is a great need for better control of ground heating in Norway, and that this is why the company began developing the technology in 2019.

”Many can save significant amounts of money and energy by controlling ground heating better. So far we have automated and optimised snow melting at a dozen locations in Norway, and the results are very good: lower costs, less unnecessary energy use, and an easier workday for those who operate the buildings.”

He is supported by Skramstad, who explains that this is a common and well-known problem:

”It is a paradox that very simple snow detectors and control systems often determine whether ground heating should be turned on or not. As is well known, snow melting systems consume massive amounts of energy during cold periods. I am convinced that many could have saved enormous sums and significant amounts of energy with more intelligent control technology.” He adds that he is very pleased with the assistance and follow-up from Guard, during which the system has been fine-tuned along the way, and that they will now consider the technology for other commercial buildings managed by the company.

”Guard has followed us up closely; they are professional and truly care about making the solution work as well as possible. It is noticeable that Guard is used to working with critical infrastructure. Therefore I recommend Guard to anyone who wants to control their snow melting system in a more intelligent way,” Skramstad concludes.