Last week, our team from Technische Universität Wien conducted a data collection initiative on the water supply network in the Municipality of Ferlach Stadtgemeinde Ferlach, Austria, as part of the H-HOPE and DIWIEN projects funded by the European Union Horizon Europe research programme.
Flows within water supply networks have the potential to generate energy, which can be used to power infrastructure and water monitoring systems. The Municipality of Ferlach in the alpine region of Carinthia supplies water at a rate of 30 litres per second to its residents which provides an opportunity for energy harvesting.
Our team collected data on water velocity, flow rate, and pressure to assess the potential for energy harvesting within the district’s water network. In DIWIEN, this activitiy helps evaluate the effects of power generation in water supply networks, identify the best locations for power generation within a municipal water network, and pinpoint where to place remote sensors for real-time monitoring.
For H-HOPE, the data collected in Ferlach, along with seven other case studies across Europe including Italy, Turkey, Iceland and Spain, will contribute to modelling an energy harvester that maximises energy extraction at district water network level.
Flow and pressure measurements were conducted at pressure reduction valves to collect data for further simulation calibration. Additionally, pressure transducers were mounted on hydrants to support the calibration process of numerical simulations with distributed pressure time series.
The primary focus of our investigation was identifying locations within the meshed piping system that have high potential for energy harvesting. These identified sites could serve as future locations for implementing adapted energy harvesting technologies.
The DIWIEN project has laid the groundwork for the H-HOPE project by studying the energy potential within the entire water supply chain, demonstrating energy harvesting possibilities between springs and reservoirs using conventional hydropower technologies. However, these technologies are not feasible at the district level, where kinetic energy is more relevant. The H-HOPE project aims to develop innovative energy extraction methods using oscillating bodies to power smartsensors within district-level water supply systems.
We would like to thank Stadtgemeinde Ferlach for providing the opportunity to study their water network, that will help pave the way for more sustainable water networks in Europe.
