The nationwide energy supply should become climate-neutral and at the same time make us less dependent on importing fossil fuels, motor fuels and heating materials. The expansion of renewable energies is therefore a central pillar of the energy transition. The THM also wants to make its contribution. Only green electricity has been used for all properties for several years. Nevertheless, as much as possible of the power consumption and heat consumption should be covered by our own renewable energy sources. As shown below, numerous projects have already been and are being implemented.
Wastewater heat utilization for the C-Campus in Giessen
This project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Union's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The idea of using waste water heat has been around at THMfor a long time, and concrete implementation will start in 2022. FM/ECO2 developed an energy concept and visited a waste water heat utilization plant in Regensburg. With the approval of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - EU-REACT, the concrete planning and implementation of the system started.
Due to the relatively high temperatures of 8-20 °C all year round, the waste water is an ideal heat source for the sustainable and efficient operation of heat pumps. In this case, the waste water flows from the public sewage system into a shaft screen. From there, the liquid medium is pumped into a heat exchanger in the building, while the solids are pumped back directly into the sewer. A heat pump, or a chiller in summer, is operated via a heat exchanger. The available heat output is around 600 kW (heat source output). The heat pump can thus provide around 850 kW of thermal output for the C-Campus, which roughly corresponds to the thermal output required for the university location in Friedberg.
In summer, the chiller uses the waste water for recooling. At least 600 kW of cold can also be generated in this way.
Due to the current increase in energy prices, the project is expected to be amortized within a few years.
The THM 's "Wastewater Heat Utilization" project serves the technical use of wastewater heat to increase energy and resource efficiency. Also, as a real laboratory, it is a study and research facility and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Union's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. www.efre.hessen.de
publications
- 19.12.2023: THM uses “previously undiscovered treasure”, bi-media
- 30.08.2023: Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen now heats with wastewater, Hessenschau
- 25.08.2023: Contribution to the heat transition - Visit from Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Construction
- 23.05.2023: In the heater instead of in the sewer - Giessen 's mayor Frank Tilo Becher and Ayse Asar, State Secretary in the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art (HMWK) put the plant into operation.
photovoltaic systems
The university plans to gradually equip all suitable roof areas of the THM with photovoltaic systems. The electricity requirements of the properties are so high that 95% of the electricity they generate themselves can currently be used in their own buildings.
If a building is suitable because of its power consumption and its free and unshaded roof area, more detailed planning is carried out. There should be space for as many modules as possible on the roofs in order to achieve the greatest possible electricity yield. Biodiversity and extensive roof greening in connection with PV should also play a role in the future. An attempt should be made to combine green roofs and photovoltaic systems. With the completion of the system on the C15/C16, the university will have around 350 kW peak Installed.
Systems already implemented:
- Building D10 Giessen , 43 kWpeak, year of construction 2020/2021
- Building D11 Giessen , 38 kWpeak, year of construction 2020/2021
- Building C11 Giessen , 29 kWpeak, year of construction 2020
- Building C15/C16 Giessen , approx. 78 kWpeak, year of construction 2022/2023
- Building A20 Giessen , 23 kWpeak, year of construction 2018/2019
- Building B1 Friedberg, 65 kWpeak, year of construction 2020
- Building A5 Friedberg, 73 kWpeak, year of construction 2018/2019
The installation of additional systems consequently also increased the amount of solar power generated. In 2021, it was more than 8 times what it was four years earlier, as shown in the chart below.
More PV systems are to be installed in the next few years. After coordination with the monument protection authority, buildings B10 and B11 are to follow next. Further expansion on the D-Campus and on the roof of building A12 will also be pushed for the next few years. In the course of the facade renovation of the C10, PV modules are integrated into the facade on the south-west side of the facade, as well as on the roof and in the area of the emergency stairwell.
