Sustainable resources are a topic of growing importance for humankind.
As fossil fuels dwindle, nations that have relied on them as a primary energy source, such as Switzerland, are searching for better options.
Switzerland is Europe’s biggest fossil fuel consumer, with heating demanding more than a third of the country’s stores.
Of that demand, 60% of the heating energy is derived from fossil fuels.
The industry is responsible for much of the nation’s non-sustainable energy use, in other words, and revolutionising heating could dramatically limit Switzerland’s dependence on finite resources.
As building owners search for reliable sources of energy to keep citizens warm, they are increasingly looking to geothermal power as a sustainable alternative.
Geothermal power is energy derived from the heat of soil.
This kind of energy used to be quite difficult to harness, but recent advances by Enerdrape have simplified the process significantly via the creation of hybrid energy systems with geothermal wall panels.
Geothermal wall panels are currently being tested in a car park in Lausanne’s Sébeillon district.
The wall panels should be able to supply as much as one-third of the energy needed to heat the approximately 60 apartments in the building above.
Consistent soil temperature offers reliable heat all year
According to Margaux Peltier, Enerdrape’s chief executive officer, the geothermal panels are able to provide reliable heat year-round thanks to the relatively unchanging temperature of soil a few meters below ground.
As a result, the system is not dependent on seasons or other weather conditions.
Alberto Simonato, the director of Realstone, the company that owns the parking lot serving as a test subject for the innovative technology, said that he is excited to watch the system evolve.
He is a proponent of projects that actively seek to lower CO2 emissions and shift energy demands to sustainable resources, and he believes that Enerdrape’s panels are a great fit.
In addition to heating apartments, geothermal energy panels are useful for tunnels as well as subway and train stations.
Peltier said that the company’s research has shown that the shape of tunnels, which would require rounded panels to fit, are an ideal space for the system.
Enerdrape’s technology has the potential to revolutionise the way that Swiss citizens use energy.
If the invention is a success, it could supply reliable heat on demand without having to worry about solar or wind conditions.
Today’s news was brought to you by TD SYNNEX – the UK’s number one solutions distributor.
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