Current standards on energy economy
Resources
Water, sun and wind cover one-fifth of Austria’s energy demand. The new systems of the future focus on regenerative raw materials and the smart optimisation of plants. Austrian experts work on sound standards at the European level and in their home country.
One language for all
- Credit: ASI prm
Intelligent management starts with clear terminology. In Austria, terms and definitions of the energy and environmental field have been laid down in standards for quite some time. Thus, experts speak a common language when they talk about the environment, energy economy as well as forecasting.
Terminological standards (examples):
Concepts of energy economy
ÖNORM M 7101: ... - General terms with definitions
ÖNORM M 7108: ... - Environment
ÖNORM M 7116: ... - Energy accounting and energy balance
ÖNORM M 7117: ... - Energy forecasting
Powering up performance
- Credit: ASI prm
Power stations can only be as good as the engineers and planners who design them. In Europe, standardisers focus on efficient and optimised equipment for power stations.
Additionally, Austria also has specifications for a heating plant variant - the combined heat and power plant that utilises process heat on site.
Power station standards (examples):
Guide for procurement of power station equipment
ÖNORM EN 45510-4-1: ... - Boiler auxiliaries - Equipment for reduction of dust emissions
ÖNORM EN 45510-4-6: … - Boiler auxiliaries - Flue gas desulphurization
ÖNORM EN 45510-5-4: … - Hydraulic turbines, storage pumps and pump-turbines
ÖNORM M 7781: Combined heat and power plants - Requirements, layout, operation and economics
Managing energy
- Credit: ISO
Energy can be managed. That promise is not exaggerated. Management systems focus on planning, implementation, reviews and improvements in several cycles in order to ensure optimisation. This basic principle was applied to the environment and energy in European standardisation.
Management:
ÖNORM EN 16001: Energy management systems - Requirements with guidance for use (draft)
ÖNORM EN ISO 14001: Environmental management systems
Heating with wood
- Credit: pixelio.de
Biomass power stations and households use more and more wood for heating. Wood is increasingly available in the form wood chips and pellets on the European market. Miscanthus chips, too, are used more widely. The first European Technical Specifications (TS) define requirements and test methods.
Standards on solid biofuels (examples):
ÖNORM CEN/TS 15234: Fuel quality assurance
ÖNORM CEN/TS 14774 (three parts): Methods for the determination of moisture content
ÖNORM CEN/TS 14775: Method for the determination of ash content
ÖNORM CEN/TS 15210: Methods for the determination of mechanical durability of pellets and briquettes
Which criteria must fuels meet?
- Credit: ASI prm
In Austria, standards regulate the criteria to be met by wood as a fuel. Be it chips or compressed material - the fuel’s performance is to live up to expectations. A special standard takes care of an extraordinary biofuel: energy grain - a cereal product.
Solid fuels in Austria (examples):
ÖNORM M 7133: Chipped wood for energetic purposes - Requirements and test specifications
ÖNORM M 7135: Pellets and briquettes - Requirements and test specifications
ÖNORM M 7137: Wood pellets - Requirements for storage of pellets at the ultimate consumer
ÖNORM M 7139: Energy grain - Requirements and test specifications
With the power of the sun
- Credit: pixelio.de
Solar energy can be used for fully ecological heating and hot water production. International and European standards define how such installations have to be planned and which performance they should reach. In this young area of standardisation, further differentiation is to be expected in the near future.
Solar systems (examples):
ÖNORM EN ISO 9488: Solar energy - Vocabulary
ÖNORM EN 12975: Thermal solar systems and components
ÖNORM ENV 12977: Thermal solar systems and components - Custom-built systems
ÖNORM M 7731: Solar heating systems for heating of water - Requirements and tests
Oil and natural gas - conventional fossil fuels
- Credit: ASI prm
Regenerative raw materials are gaining importance. But conventional fossil fuels - oil and natural gas - remain indispensible. National and European standards contribute to the security of supply and raise efficiency.
Oil and natural gas (examples):
Liquid fuels
ÖNORM C 1108: ... - Residual fuels for heating purposes - Requirements
ÖNORM C 1109: ... - Domestic fuel oil - Gasoil for heating purposes - Requirements
ÖNORM EN 116: Diesel and domestic heating fuels - Determination of cold filter plugging point
ÖNORM EN 230: Automatic burner control systems for oil burners
ÖNORM M 7510: Inspection of heating systems
ÖNORM CEN/TS 15174: Gas supply systems - Guideline for safety management systems for natural gas transmission pipelines
Economical aspects
- Credit: ASI prm
Energy economy is a topical issue and will become even more important. At the international and national level, experts develop further standards on how to use natural resources in order to reconcile economical aspects and responsible environmental protection.
