Bulgaria – 4300 E-pumps for huge heating project
Grundfos in Austria received an order for 4 300 large UPE pumps for one of the largest district heating renovation projects in Europe when the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, and the country's 15 largest towns recently started renovation on a large number of heating facilities in their apartment blocks.
(A typical example of a new, compact heating facility is shown here in front of a district heating works in the town of Kazanlak - the woman in the picture is involved in equipment assembly. Source: Grundfos)
Around 120,000 apartments benefited from the project, which will provide residents with a great deal of extra comfort while reducing energy consumption. This will be done by removing the old heating appliances, which were of a kind typical for central and eastern Europe, i.e. they were unregulated, very inefficient and were subject to high heat loss.
The old, bulky equipment was replaced by new, compact equipment that is often four or five times smaller. Nevertheless, comfort levels are now much higher, while energy consumption is much lower - thanks to electronically-regulated pumps and much more efficient heat exchangers.
This was the first time that a large project such as this required the use of E-pumps in Bulgaria, and this made it especially attractive for both Grundfos and the competitors.
Up to six contractors bid on each of the three parts of the project, and Grundfos pumps were included in most of the bids.
It was the goal of Grundfos in Austria for Danfoss, Brunata, Honeywell, Siemens and the other participants in the invitation to submit tenders to receive the same offer.
The 4 300 UPE pumps have been supplied throughout the last 18 months, and Grundfos has followed up every order with training in all the towns.
The potential in Bulgaria is still huge. Mogens Holst predicts that there will be up to 4-5 000 further invitations to tender in the next two to three years - primarily in Sofia.
Source: Grundfos Holding A/S
