The Biodiversum Visitor Centre is located in Remerschen, in a building designed by the architectural firm Hermann & Valentiny and partners, in collaboration with Betic (technical and energy studies) and SGI (structure). It is the starting point for several discovery trails and holds exhibitions and workshops for the public.
The energy concept is based on an all-wooden construction, with Betic involved in the design of all the building’s technology, in particular a heat pump system designed specifically for this project. As it is impossible to pump water from the lake to supply the heat pumps, heat exchangers were specially designed to transfer energy underwater. These prototypes take the form of baskets with a supporting structure and a grooved pipe with a large exchange surface wrapped around the structure.
Two sets of five baskets were strategically placed in the lake to take advantage of natural currents. This technique, a first in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also means that no glycol is used in the primary circuit, although the efficiency is similar, and it has no significant impact on the water temperature.
Technical characteristics of the geothermal baskets
- Number of baskets: 10
- Basket exchanger diameter: DN 40
- Length of exchanger: 320 metres
- Heat transfer fluid: glycol-free water
- Water content per exchanger: 416 litres
- Length of connection pipe to heat pump: 1,300 metres
- Water content in pipe: 3,845 litres
This new heat pump model also allows for the production of domestic hot water, which is provided by a second exchanger that recovers energy from hot gases.
This innovation benefited from a grant from the Kyoto Fund (Kyoto device financing fund) and has received two awards: a Green Business Award in 2015 and a Bauhärepräis OAI Award in 2016.
