REFERENCE PROJECT
EVEN BETTER IN DOUBLE
Two neoTowers® supply electricity and heat in an AWO retirement home
TASK
The use of modern combined heat and power plants for combined heat and power generation is particularly profitable where buildings have a high basic heat demand. This is also typical of retirement homes, where residents are often indoors 24 hours a day and want a higher room temperature.
Conventional heat generation with gas or oil heating technology and continuous electricity consumption usually contribute to relatively high base costs for heat generation in such facilities. Electricity consumption in this type of property is particularly high compared to purely residential buildings. Preliminary investigations into the use of a CHP unit have shown that amortisation periods of three years are possible due to the cost savings in electricity procurement.
SOLUTION
New building: In 2012/2013, the first considerations were made to equip the AWO old people’s home in Emden with a CHP unit from RMB/ENERGIE GmbH. The project was prompted by plans for a new 23-unit sheltered housing development to be built in 2014. In addition, a year later, a newly built day care centre and eleven renovated bungalows from the existing building stock were to be integrated into a local heating network on the site. This is why they opted for their own heating centre with an 11 kW (electric) neoTower® 11.0 CHP unit. Peak heat demand is met by a compact gas condensing boiler.
Old building: The modulating neoTower® 30.0 CHP unit with a maximum electrical output of 30 kW was installed as a base load generator. The CHP unit is heat-led with electricity optimisation. In this mode of operation, the CHP runs almost around the clock for more than 8500 hours a year. The building’s constant demand for electricity ensures a rapid return on investment of around three years. As with the choice of the ‘little brother’ in the new building, the neoTower® CHP was chosen for its convincing technical data.
CONCLUSION
The use of CHP technology was particularly appropriate for the AWO residential centre for the elderly in Emden, due to the high continuous demand for electricity and heat. The payback period for the two CHP units was determined by the optimal sizing of the system, which is expected to be as short as three years.
The narrow range of highly efficient neoTower® CHP units in the output range up to 50.0 kW (el) made a customised solution possible. In addition to the high quality of the CHP units, the decision was also based on the good service provided by the manufacturer, RMB/ENERGIE GmbH.
OVERVIEW
| Customer: | AWO Bezirksverband Weser-Ems e.V. |
| Field of application: | Nursing home |
| Location: | Oldenburg |
| Combined heat and power plant: | 1x neoTower® 11.0 | 1x neoTower® 30.0 |
| Gas type: | Natural gas |
| Rated output – electrica: | 11,0 kW | 30,0 kW |
| Rated output – thermal: | 25,3 kW | 54,9 kW |