Brief:
In 2010, rising energy prices and the need for continuous modernisation of existing inefficient heating installations have motivated the cooperative SM Nowoczesna in Racibórz, Poland, to collaborate with Ensol to address these issues by expanding the use of solar thermal collectors in multi-family buildings. One year later, the first pilot installation of solar thermal collectors for domestic hot water and space heating in Poland was initiated on an eleven-storey multi-family building.
Technology:
For this solar thermal installation, Ensol’s DIS150 flat plate collector was used, a large surface collector designed specifically for thermal energy storage installations. The installation comes with several heat storage tanks and is complemented by heat pumps.
After 12 years of project continuity, a total of 36 multi-family buildings are now benefitting from a clean and cheap energy supply thanks to renewable energy sources. The average annual savings in terms of energy price are at least 40%, tackling the issue of energy poverty at its core and providing a resilient and reliable solution instead.