Positive Energy For The New LVM Headquarter In Germany

Online, October 26, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The German LVM insurance group is building its new headquarters in Muenster : "Kristall", a 60-meter tower that is expected to produce more energy than it needs for the HVAC production! The total amount of planned investment for the construction of the tower is estimated at 43 million € and the building will spread over an area of 19.800m2. In Summer 2014, it will employ about 500 people

Everything in the Kristall design from architectural part to that plant was therefore designed with the aim of zero consumption.

Also technical plants were designed with the purpose to reduce by half the power consumption compared to traditional buildings of similar size. The primary energy demand is 58% lower than the values of the reference building, taken from the guidelines EnEV 2009 and DIN V 8599.

The PV system produces electricity for 100kW while the CHP combined heat power unit, which must guarantee 4500 hours full load operation throughout the year, produces electricity for 70kW. The 115kW of thermal heat from the CHP are delivered to the main tower and connected building of the LVM in the close neightborhood.

Two fields of geothermal probes, placed at a depth of 140 meters, act as a source for two reversible heat pumps (RECS-W /B1102 and NECS-WN /B 1004 with a thermal output of 480kW and cooling capacity of 300 kW in total) and a Climaveneta high efficiency NECS chiller having the following technical features: R-410A refrigerant , Scroll compressor, EER = 3 and ESEER = 5.9, providing additional 233kW cooling capacity to the building. The NECS chiller supply about 233 kW of cooling power to the entire structure.

Dr. Dieter Thiel, Head of the R&D Department of the Schmidt-Reuter,says " The calculations achieved by our simulations show that the additional 294kW cooling capacity that can be recovered directly from the probes will covers about 30% of the total cooling demand of the building.

Considered as highly sustainable project, "Kristall" was awarded with the GOLD pre-certification of the Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB).