Work ongoing for geothermal heating in Karlsruhe, Germany city hall
The Stadthalle in Karlsruhe, Germany (source: Günter Josef Radig, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE 
Carlo Cariaga
7 Mar 2024
The city hall in Karlsuhe, Germany is undergoing a modernization project which involves the implementation of a new geothermal heating and cooling system.
Work has started for the modernization of the Karlsruhe city in hall in Germany, which includes the integration of a geothermal heating and cooling system. The system taps into near-surface geothermal energy, replacing the city hall’s previous CO2-intensive heating and cooling system and reducing overall energy consumption.
The project team of Krämer Brunnenbau & Energie from Detteneheim is currently drilling four boreholes to a depth of 21 meters. Another set of three boreholes will then be drilled in the coming weeks at the eastern side of the city hall, which will be connected to pumping and extraction devices. Thermal water from the eastern wells will be extracted and directed through the building into a heat exchanger. This system will provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.
The thermal water will then be reinjected via the four seepage wells. The system has been designed to minimize fluctuations in groundwater level and temperature.
Based on different energy cost forecasts, the investment on the modernization project will have paid for itself within 7 to 10 years. This considers as well the implementation of building technology to improve energy efficiency, such as sophisticated controls and sun protection films. With a life cycle of 30 to 50 years, the modernization of the city hall was concluded by the city of Karlsruhe to be a good investment.
In 2020, the council of the city of Karlsruhe approved a new climate protection concept that calls for a 58% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030 and to be climate-neutral by 2050. To this end, the city aims for the expansion of utilization of solar photovoltaics and geothermal energy.
Source: meinKA
