PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The office building, dating from the 1970s, was previously heated with fossil gas.

1.) Roots Energy GmbH is using this building as a reference project for the urban energy transition. A building simulation precisely determined that a system change was necessary for long-term value preservation and achieving the 2040 climate targets. The analysis considered not only the heating load but also, explicitly, the summer heat gains in the urban area up to the year 2050, in order to ensure a future-proof energy concept.

2.) Roots Energy GmbH handled the entire project development, building permit application, and grant processing. Among the technologically and economically viable energy source solutions selected was the Energy Cube in combination with an intelligent brine infrastructure. This approach demonstrates that a complete phase-out of gas is possible in densely built-up urban areas without the need for extensive excavation work or the noisy outdoor installation of conventional air-source heat pumps.

3.) The system was successfully implemented according to the detailed design by Roots Energy GmbH. The Energy Cube was positioned as a silent air-to-brine heat exchanger. It utilizes the natural downdraft effect for energy generation and therefore operates entirely without fans, eliminating any noise emissions for the neighborhood. The central Roots Energy hydraulic module (Roots Hub) controls the energy distribution within the building, as well as the energy source management.

In addition to operational reliability, the Energy Cube offers a significant functional advantage: In winter, it extracts energy from the outside air for heating, while in summer it is used for highly efficient heat distribution to passively cool the building or to regenerate ground source heat pumps. Thanks to its plug-and-play design, installation was completed in a very short time, making the building a flagship project for the decarbonization of Vienna's building stock.

KEY DATA:

Project Type: Renovation/Building Refurbishment

Building Type: Commercial Property

Heat Distribution: Underfloor Heating

Domestic Hot Water: Included

Heat Pumps: Provided by the Client

Energy Cubes: 1 x H1-Type 7

Deep Drilling: Included

Heating Capacity: 26 kW

Year of Completion: 2025

Tittwiesenstrasse, Chur

Schweiz