Exploitability of Renewable Resources in Administrative Buildings

Abstract

The evaluation of energy flow measurements in two very special buildings under the name of Open Gardens, located in Brno, resulted in confirming that the resources of renewable energy in the Czech Republic can be sufficiently utilized. This energy is derived from photovoltaic elements and earth heat pumps and, additionally, it gets also accumulated in building structures. The energy from renewable resources is utilized for heating, cooling, warm water preparation, for raising air temperature, and it also partially covers the demand for electricity in the building. During the summer period, if the solar gains are considerable, the buildings need being cooled. This is ensured by an earth heat pump enabling the storage of waste heat in deep earth bore holes, offering the advantage of recuperating the heat for heating the rooms during the winter months. At the same time all electricity produced in the building gets utilized, covering roughly 1/3 of the consumption. A plan of comprehensive measurements aiming at the optimization of the most demanding electric appliances has been conceived for this compound of buildings, in order to ensure the best possible utilization of the produced electricity.