Around Christmas time, when the days are at their shortest, it is particularly important to have enough energy available. A technology that will become more important in the coming years and will be used by Wien Energie is near-surface geothermal energy, which uses geothermal probes. At the end of December, the probe fields are still around 70 to 80 percent charged.
While most renewable technologies reach their production peak in the summer months, significantly more energy is consumed in the winter. The so-called seasonal carryover, i.e. the transfer of energy from summer to winter, is therefore one of the major challenges of the energy transition.
Underground temperatures are stable all year round from a depth of 15 meters. At a depth of 150 meters it is around 13 degrees. Earth probes are basically “hose loops” that are stuck in boreholes. A probe fluid (brine) is pumped through this and absorbs the heat from the surrounding soil. The heat can then be used on the surface, for example as the starting temperature for a heat pump.
One year charging cycle
However, it is not always just thermal energy that can be extracted from the ground. Particularly with larger probe fields, it is important to pay attention to sustainable management. If heat is withdrawn from the ground for months, it cools down – in the spring the probe fields become empty, so to speak, which reduces the efficiency of heat generation. Over the warm months, the probe fields are then regenerated by storing excess heat, for example from solar energy, in the ground. This process can also be used to gently cool buildings, for example by dissipating heat via the water circuit of underfloor heating.
This technology can be used in particular in new building regions, for example in urban development areas such as the Village in the Third of ARE Austrian Real Estate. Wien Energie and ARE are implementing an energy concept there in which up to 80 percent of the heating energy is generated from local renewable energy sources. With 500 geothermal probes that reach a depth of 150 meters, the largest geothermal probe field in Austria is being built there. The first heating/cooling center was put into operation in the fall, and the entire district with around 2,000 apartments and commercial space is scheduled to be completed by 2027.
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