Prvá Teplárenská is constantly looking for more efficient production and distribution of hot service water. In 2023 and 2024, Prvá Teplárenská installed photovoltaic panels, using solar energy to preheat hot service water circulation. Solar energy is one of the cleanest and most affordable forms of renewable energy.

The panels are placed on the roofs of heat transfer stations in Holíč with a capacity of SNP1 12 kWp, SNP2 11.04 kWp, SNP3 12 kWp, Lúčky 13.2 kWp, and Pri Kaštieli 13.2 kWp. The layout had to take into account a structural analysis of the maximum load capacity of individual roofs.

Based on the calculations, an appropriate number of panels was selected and a suitable layout was chosen. Efficient use of sunshine, environmental impact and return on investment were also taken into account in the layout. New preheating tanks for hot service water circulation were installed in the heat transfer stations, in which the preheating of the water is solved by means of electric heating coils. The coils are fed through the control system directly from the photovoltaic panels.

At the same time, the roofs and lightning conductors were renovated. The actual installation of the photovoltaic panels was completed within a month. However, connection to the existing technology is only possible during shutdown, which takes place once a year in the summer. The total time from the structural analysis to the connection to the existing technology at one heat transfer station took approximately one year, with projects implemented in parallel.

An economic evaluation will be carried out after the end of 2024.