Geothermal heat pump and energy piles in Ventspils
Overview
In Ventspils, a town situated on the west coast of Latvia the modern music centre Koncertzāle Latvija is equipped with a geothermal heating and cooling system. The building which was commissioned in 2019 accommodates a concert hall, a music school and a music library on a total floor area of 8,000 m2.
Energy efficiency has played a key role in the design of the complex, which was built according to high insulation standards, with triple glazed windows, skylights to save electricity for lighting and an integrated ventilation, heating and cooling system. This allows for energy savings of 22.584 t CO2 per year.
Geothermal heat pump
The geothermal system consists of 405 so called energy piles, concrete foundation piles under the building which are fitted with geothermal pipes. These piles have a diameter of 52 cm and are 38 meters deep. Vater circulates in a closed system through the geothermal pipes and is used for heating the building in the winter and cooling it in the summer. A heat pump increases or decreases the water temperature according to current needs. This system produces 202.7 MWh of heating, 40.7 of cooling and 37 MWh of hot water per year.
“In combination with city’s centralised heating and our local geothermal heat pump we can use the most suitable heating source for the moment (for example, if city’s heating tariff or electricity tariff changes). Usually, the heat pump is more profitable. We use centralised heating only in the coldest days of winter to keep the COP high.”
Financing
The heating and cooling system was fully financed by Latvian Emission Allowance Auction Instrument (www.ekii.lv).
Geothermal heating pipes in the basement of Koncertzāle Latvija
A total of 405 pipes are connected to feed into the central heating and cooling system.
Summary
Commissioned in 2019
Heating: 202.7 MWh per year
Cooling: 40.7 MWh per year
Hot water: 37 MWh per year
CO2 savings per year: 22.584 t
Heat pump COP: 3.74 in 2023
Sources:
Koncertzāle Latvija
Music School and Concert Hall | Transsolar | KlimaEngineering
Construction of Ventspils music high school with a concert hall functions (bmgs.lv)