| Title | Overview of the ATES Projects in Flanders (Belgium) for Air-Conditioning in Large Buildings and Industrial Process Cooling |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Dirven & Bert Gysen |
| Year | 1999 |
| Conference | European Geothermal Conference |
| Keywords | UTES, underground thermal energy storage, ATES, aquifer thermar energy storage, cold and beat storage |
| Abstract | Thermal energy such as winter cold and summer heat kom ambient air can he stored in aquifers (ATES - Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage) and can be used for cooling purpose in summer and for preheating in winter. A Coldheat storage system can be used for cooling a building or an industrial process, resulting in an energy saving of 40-80%. Introducing energy storage increases the use of renewable energy and has a positive impact on the environment compared with conventional cooling installations. In 1996, the fmt Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage System was put into effect in Flanders (the northern region of Belgium) to serve the CERA Bank headquarters in Leuven. Since this date several projects of ATES are in service or under construction in Flanders. The concept of each project is different and illustrates the technical flexibility of an ATES system. Up to now, two projects are in service and for the other ones the decision for realisation has been taken: CERA Bank headquarters (now KBC Bank): integration of an ATES system with cooling machines and an ice accumulation system. KLINA Hospital: integration of heat pumps (reversible cooling machine) with ATES. Janssen Pharmaceutica Offices: combination of mechanical ventilation and climate ceilings connected with ATES; the long-term underground cold storage source will be loaded by means of a combination of air handling units, a cooling tower and surface water (pond). DIDAK: cooling of extrusion machines in the plastic industry by a coldrecirculation storage system. |