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The Future Has Begun - Barcelona
How the flexible use of heat pumps is transforming a residential building in Barcelona's old town into a modern apartment building.
The Vaillant Group is a leading provider of energy-saving and environmentally friendly heat pumps. These obtain about three quarters of their energy for free from the environment and are suitable for most buildings.
In the series ‘The Future Has Begun', we present remarkable buildings and architectural projects that have one thing in common: heat pumps provide comprehensive heating comfort in an economical and environmentally friendly way.
The Property: Old property in Barcelona becomes a modern apartment building
While the big solution had to be found in A Coruña, a heat pump installation in Barcelona shows what is possible on a somewhat smaller scale. In the Catalan metropolis, living space is scarce and expensive. It therefore even makes sense to renovate an old property into a modern apartment block. The example shows the flexibility of heat pumps in existing buildings and even where space is limited.
A particular characteristic of the project in Barcelona is that all apartment units, although they are only 50 square metres in size, have their own heating and hotwater supply. The lack of space was therefore a determining factor in the choice of building technology from the outset.
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The solution approach: heat pumps instead of a solar-powered system
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Before it could be used as living space, the entire building had to undergo a complete refurbishment. It was divided into 18 small but very modern residential units. Each of these units comes with a combined kitchen/living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a small hallway. The first problem in terms of space was encountered on the roof. The original plan was to equip the building with a solar-powered system. In this case, using renewable energy, at least in part, was not an entirely free decision of the developers.
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The city of Barcelona requires this from building owners. It soon became apparent that the roof was not large enough to accommodate all the collectors that would be needed to generate enough electricity. Therefore, plan B was chosen: heat pumps! The same roof size that had proved too small to fit the photovoltaic solar panels turned out to be more than sufficient to accommodate a dozen heat pumps. The shortage-of-space factor then shifted to the inside of the house. Nevertheless, this alternative could be realised under the given structural conditions.
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The result: energysavings amounting to around 70 per cent
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The GeniaSet package that was eventually employed is a compact solution that integrates heating, cooling and hot-water supply in a single block. The system consists of an outdoor unit – i.e. the heat pump itself – and an indoor unit about the size of a refrigerator. All installation elements are integrated into the indoor unit, together with a 190-litre storage tank for domestic hot water.
In Barcelona, the installers were able to save even more space by fitting the entire system into a closet that all flats have in their hallways. In spite of this creative solution, all recommended technical specifications for installations of this kind were observed and easy access to the devices for maintenance work was ensured. As a result of the refurbishment, energy savings amounting to around 70 per cent have been achieved.
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