Helen and Silo AI bring intelligence to district heat production in Helsinki

Helen, the electricity and heat energy producer in Helsinki, and Silo AI have together developed an AI-driven solution that improves forecasting of district heat demand and makes production planning more efficient. The intelligent solution learns from historical data and is able to make demand forecasts up to 40 hours. The results of the solution, already implemented in Helsinki, are promising as it reduces error rate between heat forecasts and actual demand by one third.

Most of the houses in Helsinki are heated with district heating all year round. With the machine-learning based solution Helen can now better plan its heat production throughout the year.

The intelligent solution leverages historical forecasting data in addition to weather and time related data. The historical data covers both previous demand forecasts made and actual demand for the last two weeks. In addition, the solution adapts to new data and improves over time.

The intelligent application enables the planning of district heating production as close as possible to the actual demand. This is important in order to produce the right amount of district heat.

– The solution has been piloted in Helen alongside the current forecasting system, and the results are promising. The quality of the heat demand forecast will further improve over time as the data increases. By utilizing the latest technologies, Helen brings the opportunities of a new era in energy to everyone. As the entire energy system becomes more efficient, our customers also benefit. Helen's goal is carbon-neutral energy production, and the efficiency of the entire energy system contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, says Janne Inkinen, Advisor at Helen.

– It is great to see that Helen is boldly developing new technology for a challenging problem  in collaboration with us. Creating foresight based on dynamic data is a task where machine learning significantly benefits both heat producers and consumers, says Peter Sarlin, CEO of Silo AI.

Additional information & interview requests

Helen

Janne Inkinen, Advisor, Helen Oy,
tel. 040 334 6538
Janne.Inkinen@helen.fi

Helen Ltd’s energy production is awarded as the most efficient in the world. We aim to achieve 100% carbon neutrality in our energy production. We have over 450,000 customers throughout Finland.

Silo AI

Pauliina Alanen, Comms Lead, Silo AI
Tel. +358 50 5744771
pauliina.alanen@silo.ai

Silo AI is the largest AI solution and service provider in the Nordics that solves the most strenuous challenges in machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing. Silo AI aims at being a trusted partner that brings AI into product development and delivers AI-driven solutions and products. The company serves clients across several industries on four continents. Some Silo AI solutions include a tool for the Finnish airline Finnair to improve situational awareness and a tool to improve water quality at water treatment facilities for the global leading engineering company Ramboll.

Would you like to discuss more our AI solutions for the energy sector? Get in touch with our Business Development Executive Harri Kaukovalta at harri.kaukovalta@silo.ai

Photo: Helen Oy, Katri Tamminen.