District heating systems have typically been controlled by independent, local SCADA systems for each boiler station. These can often be replaced with a common Netcon 3000 system, which brings in the advantage of centralized control of the network.
The ready made control dialogues of the Netcon 3000 system can reduce the number of the required pictures to just a fraction of what it was before. With its advanced, dynamical reporting functionality, Netcon 3000 can also fulfill the reporting requirements from just one place.
Netcon 3000 includes an advanced functionality for the management of user privileges, fully supporting a multi-user environment. It can also include several locations and redundant systems therein. The redundancy can, for example, take care of cases where the communication to a boiler station fails because of careless excavation. Boiler stations can be equipped with local clients which automatically shift to island mode if the communication is lost. In normal situations, they can be used for local control.
The use of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) is common at heat-only boiler stations or in co-generation plants. This adds some special demands on the data communication as well as on the overall SCADA master station. Netcon 3000 includes flexible possibilities for connecting the PLCs, normally over OPC (Ole for Process Control).
Netcon 3000 is in use in several places, from really small installations to large systems, and can even be a combined system for electricity and district heating networks. Normally the overall system is enhanced with Netcontrol’s top level gateways, the Netcon Gateway Server and the Netcon GW502, with all their possibilities for conversion between different communication protocols.
