The contribution of building‐integrated geothermal systems to the energy transition / Der Beitrag gebäudeintegrierter Geothermieanlagen zur Energiewende

Abstract

If international agreements to replace fossil fuels with renewables are taken seriously by politicians, a much broader use of environmental-friendly energy sources will be needed for heating and cooling purposes in the future. This necessary decarbonisation can be supported by the use of heat pumps in combination with geothermal absorbers, which have particular advantages since a large part of the heat used is extracted from the environment surrounding the building. The advantage of building-integrated geothermal systems also lies in the simple and inexpensive supply of cooling energy, which can be accomplished either by free cooling or by reversing the heat pump circuit. The geothermal plants at Salzburg railway station and the Austria Campus will be exemplified and operating experience is given.