Expecting record use of hot water

A temporary drop in pressure could occur in the utility’s heating system tomorrow, but everything is set to break a new record for hot water use at the time of day when most of the country is having a bath before Christmas.

Sólrún Kristjánsdóttir, managing director of Veitur, says the company is not worried, the hot water situation is good, but she encourages people to consider spreading the load on the system. For example, by showering in the morning or noon instead of between 16 and 17:30 when the use is highest.

“We’re seeing peak flow figures, day after day, which we’ve never seen before at Veitur. There have never been so many houses connected in such a cold climate as there is now. It’s been a prolonged period of cold, the longest we’ve seen in this century.

It is a challenge and we’ve got the system at full capactiy but we can still handle. The priority is house heating and people being able to bathe before Christmas,” Kristjánsdóttir tells mbl.is.

Record usage last week

The last record for hot water use in the utility’s system was broken on Thursday last week when the flow rose to 18,400 cubic meters per hour, but the flow is estimated to exceed 19,000 cubic meters per hour tomorrow.

“We’ve reached the point where a lot of the country’s heating plants have reached a certain maximum tolerance level and we know that there are opportunities to be more careful and to make better use of what we’ve already acquired,” says Kristjánsdóttir.

No need to close swimming pools

Most swimming pools in the capital area had to be shut down earlier this week after a malfunction occurred in Hellisheiði power plant, causing no production of hot water.

It has previously been stated that if the demand for hot water in the capital area reaches a certain level, utilities may have to cut water to heavy users, such as swimming pools.

However, according to Kristjánsdóttir, there is no need to close the pools tomorrow to meet the increased demand.

“What could happen if the pressure is very high is that there will be a temporary drop in pressure, which means a little less flow coming, but it’s not that we’re worried about houses not getting hot, or people not being able to shower or bathe. We’re not talking about any shortage or anything like that.”

She then says that the failure of Hellisheidi Power plant has been prevented from occurring again. “There is no promise, though, that there will not be another failure somewhere. We just cross our fingers and hope that it will not happen.”