Eibiswald District Heating

Nahwärme Eibiswald uses wood chips to heat its district heating network. Wood chips are 100% CO2 free but are still subject to fluctuating purchase prices. As the biomass boiler could not be operated in the low-load range, an alternative had to be found. While an oil boiler was out of the question, a solar option with a constant heat price was an attractive alternative. In 1997 Nahwärme Eibiswald installed its first district heating solar plant. With the installed collector area of 1,150 m²/12,379 ft² and solar heat storage volume of 105 m³/27,740 gal, Nahwärme Eibiswald was able to cover up to 90% of its heat demand via the solar thermal plant during the summer months. Over the years the district heating grid and its energy demand grew constantly, resulting in a necessary extension of the existing solar system to keep a high solar heat coverage during the summer months. In 2012, an additional 1,115 m²/12,000 ft² of advanced high-temperature flat plate collectors were installed. The hot water storage volume was increased by 60 m³ / 15,850 gal.