SANBA – Smart Anergy Quarter Baden: Project Achievements

The completed SANBA project shows that a so-called anergy or low-temperature heating/cooling network can also be used for heritage-listed buildings as an innovative solution for the local coverage of heating and cooling needs.

The project was conceptualised for the former Martinek barracks in Baden, with industrial waste heat from the NÖM dairy and geothermal probe fields for seasonal underground heat storage as the cornerstones of the thermal energy supply. Three concrete scenarios for the development of the site were defined as the basis for the energy and renovation calculations. In the first stage of development, these range from exclusive use of the listed, renovated existing buildings without new buildings, to dense development with mixed use from residential to work or education and training. In addition to the technical analysis and planning, an economic analysis was also carried out in which the specific costs of the different energy services for these three development scenarios were determined and compared. The scenarios also address the building types and their energy consumption characteristics.

Anergy networks are suitable for supplying urban areas because:

• the temperature demand of heat distribution systems in new buildings is reduced
• energy-efficient measures are taken in old buildings
• there is a noticeable tendency towards decentralised heating and cooling networks due to the increased share of renewable energy sources

The analysis carried out by the NÖM dairy showed that about 19% of the final energy consumption (gas and electricity) can be decoupled in the form of low-temperature heat.

The grid can also be managed economically regardless of future use, as the system is based on industrial low-temperature heat losses into the anergy grid with geothermal heat storage.

Furthermore, the project results showed that anergy networks can be implemented in heritage-listed buildings or buildings in need of renovation. Thus, these sites can be transformed into a sustainable energy system.