In Grünberg, Stadtwerke Gießen is currently building a heating centre and a local heating network to supply four apartment buildings. A modern solution that offers numerous advantages for the residents and protects the climate at the same time.
In the basements of many apartment blocks, outdated heating systems are still doing their job - and consuming considerably more energy than necessary. Equally inefficient are outdated floor heating systems or gas boilers that tenants use to heat water. Bau- und Siedlungsgenossenschaft Grünberg-Laubach e.G. is now opting for a much more modern, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution - a heating centre that will supply four residential buildings with a total of 33 flats in Grünberg's Kantstrasse via a local heating network. This is the second time that the Grünberg-Laubach building co-operative has broken new ground in energy supply. Since last year, a combined heat and power plant (CHP) in Laubach has been supplying 30 flats in three buildings.
Between June and October of this year, Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) will be constructing the entire plant in Grünberg. "This modernisation was on the cards anyway and we were looking for an option that took into account both climate protection and energy costs. We found the best solution for tenants and the environment - all the better that we can implement it with an expert from our region," explains Helmut Kircher, technical consultant at the Grünberg-Laubach building and housing cooperative.
Heat supply in an all-round carefree package
The centrepiece of the new plant in Kantstrasse: a CHP unit and natural gas condensing boiler, which together will produce around 226,800 kilowatt hours of heat per year. The CHP unit also has an electrical output of 20 kilowatts. During operation, it therefore also produces green electricity, which SWG feeds into the public grid.
"We have already gained a lot of experience with the combination of condensing boiler technology and combined heat and power generation in similar projects. Expertise that we are now applying to the construction of the plant in Grünberg," explains SWG project manager Christian Launhardt. After installation, Stadtwerke Gießen will also take over operation and all maintenance and servicing work. The building and housing co-operative - and therefore also the tenants - only pay for the heat actually supplied. For example, the previous costs for the chimney sweep are no longer incurred. The same applies to energy losses during water heating in the flats. "From autumn 2014, we will be supplying climate-friendly heating energy directly to all 33 flats. An all-round carefree package where residents no longer have to worry about anything themselves," assures Oliver Kisignacz, customer advisor from SWG's industrial and business customer sales department.