An energy-efficient heating and cooling solution with geothermal energy

 

Run by the City of Espoo, Kauklahti’s senior centre is a pilot project initiated with a view to developing an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and comfortable assisted living and multi-function facility for senior citizens. In design, the guiding principle was energy efficiency without compromises on comfort and functionality, according to HVAC Design Engineer Juhani Järvinen.

Kauklahti’s Elä ja asu senior centre will serve as a model for the design and construction of modern service centres.

Geothermal energy, generated with a heat pump, serves as the primary source of energy for the building’s cooling and heating system. The facility is also connected to the district heating network, which provides a backup and supplementary source of heat.

Advanced building automation

The property boasts an advanced building automation system. The floor and air temperatures in the rooms are adjusted according to the temperature sensors. The resident may also adjust the temperature up or down manually by two degrees. All the premises in the building are connected to a monitoring system, which can be used to monitor and adjust the temperature.  Järvinen explains that the monitoring system has also facilitated the performance of adjustments during the warranty period.

Energy-efficient system

Kauklahti’s Elä ja asu senior centre’s geothermal energy area has 18 200-metre geothermal wells. A mixture of ethanol and water is used as the heat recovery liquid. In winter, the heat pump is able to generate the energy required by the building’s in-floor heating system. In summer, geothermal energy is mainly used for the property’s free cooling. In addition, the heat pump can be used in reverse mode as a supplementary cooling device to level out capacity peaks.

Close monitoring

Chiller’s geothermal energy solution comes with the Service Next package, which offers direct connection to Chiller’s helpdesk service via IoT. This enables the remote control of the system, ensuring the best possible efficacy. The Chillquick Thermo heat pump is also equipped with the COPtronic thermal efficiency measurement and calculation solution.

The senior centre’s geothermal energy solution

  • The Chillquick Thermo™ geothermal heat pump, plus cold and hot water header tanks and the liquid cooling circuit’s heat exchangers and pumps.
  • The heat pump has the heating capacity of 150 kW and the cooling capacity of 100 kW.
  • COPtronic™ efficacy measurements and calculations
  • Service Next™ package
  • The number of energy wells: 18
  • The depth of energy wells: 200 m