The Romanian energy company Hidroelectrica relies on sirens from HÖRMANN warning systems to ensure dam safety

It is important to the Romanian energy supplier Hidroelectrica S.A. that the population in the danger zone of the dam of the hydroelectric power plant is reliably warned. HÖRMANN Warnsysteme has therefore expanded the existing warning system together with its local partner QBS Quality Business Solutions and added new safety functions. HÖRMANN Warnsysteme is a leading manufacturer of siren systems from Germany and has years of experience in setting up reliable warning systems for critical infrastructures such as hydropower plants.

By 2050, most of the world's people will live within the sphere of influence of large dams built in the 20th century, reports the UN University in an analysis of the state of existing dams globally. The study focused on eroding structures as a source of danger for people living downstream from the dams. But this is only one safety hazard. Many dams are drained regularly. The water masses then flowing through the valley are also a hazard and can cost human lives.

The most reliable warning tool for the downstream population is the siren. Several sirens installed downstream ensure that the population is warned in good time in the event of a dam burst or controlled flooding and can thus get to safety. When planning and installing such a system, it needs to be done economically, but every resident in the danger zone must still be reliably reached. The system must function without any ifs and buts. On the one hand, the low-maintenance technology used in the sirens and the use of batteries that guarantee reliable triggering in an emergency, independent of the power grid, contribute to this. On the other hand, the quality of the installation is an indispensable criterion. To ensure this, HÖRMANN Warnsysteme carefully selects its partners, such as QBS, and works very closely with them on a long-term basis.

For the Romanian energy company Hidroelectrica S.A., which operates several hydropower plants, the safety of every potentially endangered person had to be guaranteed. Therefore, they revised the existing warning system. 560 sirens from HÖRMANN warning systems warn the population downstream of the dam in the event of a leak or the controlled release of the dam, which can also lead to high water in the flooded area. To ensure that the triggering works reliably in any case, a redundancy of the alert function is important to the group: the sirens are therefore triggered via two different communication channels. The siren system now has communication gateways of the latest technology, which can trigger all 560 sirens together, but also a single siren or selected siren groups. With this new installation of the communication gateways, the backbone of the system was renewed and its future viability ensured.