The Dutch water pipe system is one of the greatest infrastructural achievements of the past hundred years. And the underground water network continues to develop, not least because of the fact that it has to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This also applies to the water pipe system of the Vitens Water Company. In the provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijs-sel, Friesland and Flevoland, 5.5 million people make use of the services of Vitens each day. The largest water company of the Netherlands “digitises” the network to make the drinking water supply even more reliable. The components for collecting the required measuring data are accommodated by Vitens in rugged Rittal outdoor enclosures.
The enclosures are indestructible. We still use Rittal outdoor enclosures which were installed 15 years ago, since we never had to replace them. They are easy to maintain, corrosion-resistant and are equipped with good seals. Conclusion: We do not need to take care of them.
Monitoring and low energy consumption
The Vitens Water Company provides a portion of the 49,000 km long drinking water network with sensors which use real-time technology to register what is going on in the pipe network. Electronic components send the measuring data collected in the outdoor enclosures to a system. This system can be used by means of web applications. The water pressure potentials in the different network areas are also exactly documented by means of this system. In this way, Vitens can send a service technician before a customer detects problems in the drinking water supply. Vitens is convinced of the future synergistic effects of the system: lower energy consumption and even better monitoring of the water quality. Electronic components are in-dispensable for the monitoring of the water levels and the pressure potentials. For the optimal functioning of the pipe network, Vitens has accommodated these components in Rittal aluminium outdoor enclosures for decades.
Hermetically sealed, low weight
Depending on the functional requirement, Vitens uses double-walled or single-walled outdoor enclosures. The components installed in the enclosure are the decisive factor. The single-walled Rittal CS New Basic enclosure can be used wherever many cables must be efficiently distributed. These enclosures mainly contain passive system components which place low demands on the climate control. The ventilated roof ensures low temperature fluctuations and prevents the formation of condensate water. Due to the high-quality corrosion protection, the high protection class up to IP 55 and the versatility, Rittal CS New Basic is the ideal enclosure for all applications with low power loss.
Functional requirements
Rittal CS New Basic enclosures are equipped with a robust three-point locking system and a polyurethane foam seal. Since the seals are seamless, the outdoor enclosures are hermetical-ly sealed - also on the bottom side where the cables are inserted. It is important to Vitens that high-quality gland plates are installed, since there is a high risk of insects entering the enclo-sure in the cable inlet surroundings. This must be prevented in any case, since otherwise mal-functions might be caused. The service life of the Rittal enclosures has a positive impact on the maintenance costs. The enclosures are available on demand. Due to their low weight, they can be easily transported. In the years to come, Vitens intends to further digitise the water supply network, and more and more old outdoor enclosures will be replaced with the new Rittal outdoor enclosures which are suited to provide optimum protection for the sensitive components. This allows an additional extension of the monitoring system. The result is an intelligent network which is optimized by means of thousands of sensors
Overview
- Project
- Wasserwerke Vitens
- Location
- Zwolle, The Netherlands
- Branch
- Infrastructure-Telecommunications
- Challenge
Protection of sensitive components for necessary measurement data in resistant, long-lived outdoor enclosures
Extension of the monitoring system for the drink water supply- Solution
Double-walled or single-walled outdoor enclosures, IP55
The service life of the Rittal enclosures has a positive impact on the maintenance costs