In Lochem, ten houses are being supplied with hydrogen instead of natural gas. This is happening in a neighborhood with many older, monumental houses that are difficult to insulate. Therefore, these houses are less suitable for the use of heat pumps or a connection to a district heating network. The residents will receive a central heating boiler that is suitable for hydrogen gas and will cook electrically. The first houses have already been connected to the hydrogen gas network and are being heated with hydrogen.
Hydrogen delivery
The delivery of the hydrogen is done with tube trailers that are set up on a site at the Stijgoord, just outside the residential area. From the Nieuweweg, the hydrogen will then be transported through the existing natural gas network to the 10 houses. The starting point is that the hydrogen is made from sustainable energy (solar and/or wind energy), but there is not enough of that available at the moment.
Measurement equipment installed
gAvilar has supplied the Measurement, Reduction, and Odorization [MRO] installation (see photo) and ensures that the hydrogen is reduced from a pressure of 8 bar to 80 mbar and that the hydrogen is also odorized so that the characteristic natural gas smell is detected if a hydrogen leak occurs. In the meter cupboard of the house, the pressure is further reduced to a pressure of 30 mbar.
A completely new development in the MRO installation is the odorizing of the hydrogen. Because the consumption of hydrogen in the summer can be very small, the hydrogen must be odorized very precisely. The odorization installation that gAvilar has developed is able to odorize the hydrogen accurately from 1 Nm3/h. The consumed hydrogen is measured in the MRO installation with a rotor gas meter equipped with the gFLOW1500.
