Today, the issue of sustainable development of cities and regions is relevant for most European countries. In Lithuania, interest in regional development has particularly grown once the opportunity to obtain aid from the European Union presented itself. The aid brings to the country’s regions both business subsidies and modern technology.
Today, the issue of sustainable development of cities and regions is relevant for most European countries. In Lithuania, interest in regional development has particularly grown once the opportunity to obtain aid from the European Union presented itself. The aid brings to the country’s regions both business subsidies and modern technology. Possibilities offered by the latter are discovered by developers of projects implemented in the regions who seek to attract more visitors and introduce them to the most valuable local natural and cultural monuments.
One of the examples is the Salantai Regional Park located in the north-west of Lithuania, on the territory of Kretinga, Skuodas and Plungė district municipalities. Its unique charm and distinctness stem from the abundance and diversity of cultural heritage objects, rapid rivers, unique buildup of boulders, peculiar well-groomed towns, and an up-to-date visitor center undergoing quick construction, which is to open its doors very soon. The center is more appealing and compact as well as smarter than its predecessors.
Business partners assist in equipping the center with smart house technologies. Modestas Šečkus, Director of the visitor center, explains that the choice of these technologies for the Salantai Regional Park was based on economy and convenience. “Rapidly increasing popularity of smart house technologies among private individuals has created the need to modernize public buildings as well. Even though the project in the visitor center has not been completed so far, when opting for smart systems, we have taken into account the possibility to save resources and manage the buildings in a convenient manner offered by them. Moreover, we hope that these systems will also ensure more comfort for the visitors of our park, offering new opportunities to learn more about numerous natural, archaeological and cultural monuments as well as other interesting objects located in the park”, says M. Šečkus.
The task of making the project smart was entrusted to telecommunications and information technology company Penkių Kontinentų Komunikacijų Centras owned by a group of companies Penki Kontinentai. According to Vaidas Janulis, Head of the company’s Smart Buildings Department, one of the key reasons for the success of smart systems is the possibility to save resources. “The benefit of smart house systems seen as the opportunity to save time, create comfortable and safe environment has been recognized a long time ago. Thus new projects aimed at designing cost-efficient and durable buildings continue to emerge. We are pleased to see that such projects are being implemented on the regional level as well”, says V. Janulis.
Smart heating system will be one of the primary indicators of comfort of the new visitor center in the Salantai Regional Park. The system will maintain the appropriate temperature in the premises of the center and adapt to its working rhythm. Operation of the heating system can be adjusted using thermostats installed in the premises and a mobile device (tablet PC or smart phone). It is also expected that the system will help to save up to 50 percent of heating costs.
The Salantai Regional Park visitors centre
Cost-saving lighting system is yet another smart feature of the visitor center. Presence sensors installed in the building will adjust the lighting and help to showcase the beauty of expositions to the visitors. Small and functional switches will allow controlling the entire system from several parts of the center with a single touch. The system will also help to save up to 60 percent of lighting costs.
Smart house expert V. Janulis says there is one more benefit to these technologies that is worth mentioning, i.e. environmental friendliness ensured by the saving of energy resources. “Rational use of resources has become a top-priority problem in the world and in our lives. It has been noticed a long while ago that when dealing with this issue, environmental policy alone is far from sufficient. We need changes contributing to the development of clean and healthy environment as well as improved quality of life. We are happy to see that more and more Lithuanians and Lithuanian companies understand the importance of cost-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies, and choose them when implementing various projects. We are pleased to know that the idea of sustainable environment is becoming increasingly popular in Lithuanian regions as well”, says the representative of Penkių Kontinentų Komunikacijų Centras.
One can only hope that after the completion of this and many more regional development projects, their results will contribute to the creation of lively, open and sustainable regional communities, and we will be able to experience the pleasure of discovering the most beautiful protected areas, when stopping by in the Salantai Regional Park during our trip around Lithuania.