Heat from parking garage heats building
A pilot project in Lausanne will demonstrate that heat from underground parking can be used to heat 60 apartments.
No matter how cold it is outside, it always stays warm in underground garages. This is mainly due to the temperature of the ground behind the concrete walls. This heat uses Enerdrapea cleantech spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) to heat apartments. In a pilot project, the garage thus supplies about one-third of the energy needed to heat 60 apartments above it. In summer, the system also promises cooling.
Wafer-thin heat exchanger
To generate heat in parking garages, Margaux Peltier, head of Enerdrape, has heat exchangers specially developed for this purpose mounted on the walls. The blue and white panels measure 1.3 by 0.7 meters and are made of a metal foil no thicker than a painter's canvas. This guarantees optimal transfer of heat from the walls and the environment. However, there is a risk that they will be damaged.
Water circulates in the heat exchangers and is heated to a temperature of about ten degrees Celsius. In an electrically driven heat pump, the temperature level is raised so that it is sufficient for heating. In summer, the heat pump is not needed; the water, which is about ten degrees warm, has a cooling effect during this time of year, making air conditioning unnecessary. "The thermal energy captured by the panels is not dependent on the seasons or the weather," says Peltier.
Expansion in case of success
The parking garage and the total of 60 apartments for the pilot project in Lausanne's Sébeillon district belong to the real estate fund company Realstone. The company owns four other buildings in the district. Alberto Simonato, director of the company, wants to have all the underground buildings owned by the company equipped with Enerdrape technology if the system proves successful. Thus, a parking garage with 275 parking spaces could follow.
Not only suitable for underground parking
The technology is not limited to use in underground garages. It can be installed on the walls of all underground structures, such as road and rail tunnels or subway stations. Admittedly, there should be settlements or businesses nearby that can use the energy. "Our research has shown that our panels can work effectively even if they have a round shape, such as required for the interior of a tunnel," Peltier says.
Source: pressetext, Wolfgang Kempkens
