The Netherlands province of South Holland manages and maintains 78 bridges and locks on its network of waterways. It has developed a standardised solution for controlling this infra-structure – for example opening and closing them to enable boats to pass. This solution makes use of various Rittal products. The deployment of modular, easily integrated compo-nents enables maintenance partner EPC Groep to guarantee highly reliable operations at low cost.
In cooperation with Rittal, a cooling system was developed that is connected directly to a heat recovery system.
Remote operation of bridges and locks
In 2006, South Holland decided to switch to remote control of its infrastructure to ensure seamless travel for boats on rivers and canals. Step by step, its locks and bridges were con-nected to a fibre optic network. Electronic operation and remote monitoring is now conducted by five control centres. These employ standardised products, paving the way for cost-effective maintenance, highly reliable control technology, and smooth traffic on waterways. One of the control centres is located in the futuristic Steekterpoort building near the historic Gouwsluis vertical-lift bridge in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. The facility controls 24 mov-able bridges across South Holland.
Standard components improve reliability and minimise maintenance costs
South Holland’s standardised approach extends to the camera systems and sensors, and Rit-tal’s TS IT racks and LCP cooling units. These products are deployed at all five control cen-tres. This minimises maintenance effort and outages, reducing costs. Additionally, the prov-ince has signed a service agreement with Rittal for the timely replacement of sensitive com-ponents.
A focus on sustainable cooling
Longevity and eco-friendliness were decisive factors in the selection of the control centres’ IT cooling systems. Tino van As, Project Head of the infrastructure management agency for the province of South Holland explains: “Rittal launched its rack-based LCP cooling units in 2012. We quickly recognised the advantages of this rack-level, energy-efficient approach. But we wanted more – we were looking for ways to make this solution even more durable.” In coop-eration with Rittal, a solution was developed that connects directly to a heat recovery system. Data-centre waste heat is leveraged for heating the control centres. This cuts annual power consumption and CO2 considerably.
Overview
- Project
- Provinz Südholland
- Location
- Den Haag, The Netherlands
- Branch
- Infrastructure-Telecommunications
- IT-infrastructure
- Challenge
Electronic control and monitoring of all bridges and watergates
Long life cycle and multiple usage of cooling system in the control center- Solution
Rittal TS IT Racks, LCP (Liquid Cooling Package) for minimum blackout- and maintenance costs
High annual energy savings