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by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

Flying over Turin to Detect the Leaks in the District Heating Piping

Recently, in the Turin metropolitan area, the number of construction sites to repair the underground piping of the district heating system are rapidly increasing. The network of the system is now about 743 km with the initial installations dating back to the 1980's. The passage of time and the water temperature of 100° C have caused many leaks of hot fluid, rarely identifiable at street level.

The system is managed by the local multi utility company IREN and they contacted DigiSky, a Turin / Aeritalia airport-based operator specialized in aerial monitoring, to carry out thermal detection for leaks over the wide area served by the district heating system. During the few past months, when the weather situation was favourable, DigiSky's Cherokee Lance made a series of night flights operated from the IFR-equipped Caselle Airport. The mapping missions were effected at 3,500 ft altitude and sometime lasted up to five hours.

The activity ended in mid-April when the district heating system was shut down for the summer. The resulting images precisely highlight the critical points of the piping and should allow IREN to quickly intervene to avoid further water and energy wastage before the next winter season. It is predictable that the success of the just concluded programme will encourage other Italian and foreign municipalities to follow Turin's example.

In the picture: the Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance I-DSKY of DigiSky landing at Turin/Aeritalia Airport after a reconnaissance mission. The aircraft is fitted with a ventral trapdoor for a number of sensor devices. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, May 2024)