100% renewable heating and cooling supply in social housing - the demonstration project Käthe-Dorsch-Gasse
The creation of affordable housing versus the implementation of climate protection measures represents a pronounced area of tension, especially in social housing. In the project Käthe-Dorsch-Gasse, a large-volume residential building with approx. 300 residential units, built by the developer WBV-GPA - Wohnbauvereinigung für Privatangestellte, this tension is proactively addressed.
The overall goal of the project "Sozial100%Erneuerbar" is to implement a 100% renewable (on-site) heating and cooling supply in social housing while achieving good living comfort. Special emphasis is put on high multiplicability and scalability.
Innovation contents and targeted results
Implementation, monitoring and optimization of a system of heating and cooling supply, which has not been implemented in this combination before, especially in social housing.
This system consists of the following elements:
- Geothermal energy with borehole field regeneration
- Heating and cooling via building component activation
- Free cooling
- Domestic water heat recovery
- Photovoltaic system to cover the electricity demand of the building services equipment as well as the general electricity demand.
Geothermal energy and building component activation in particular have never before been implemented on this scale in social housing. The project pursues the goal of making these technologies affordable and acceptable in social housing.
To achieve a proper energy balance of the borehole field, the following technologies are applied:
- asphalt collectors;
- roof-mounted (unglazed) flat-plate collectors;
- waste heat from apartment cooling.
Asphalt collectors and unglazed flat-plate collectors are of particular interest as innovative and cost-effective solutions for social housing. This builds on the results of the AIT-Project Heat Harvest.
Since in thermally optimized buildings domestic hot water is the real driver of heat demand, there is a great need for multipliable solutions in this respect. In the project "Sozial100%Erneuerbar" a system is to be installed that has not yet been implemented in social housing.
The project places a special focus on the involvement of future residents with the aim of making individual comfort, a high quality of life, but also the implementation of climate-relevant energy supply „liveable“ for residents.
Project start
June 2021
Project duration
36 months
Project partner
AIT Austrian Institute of Technlogy GmbH
Wohnbauvereinigung für Privatangestellte Gemeinnützige GmbH (WBV-GPA)
Funding Tool
The project was carried out within the framework of "Stadt der Zukunft". "Stadt der Zukunft" is a research and technology program of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility Innovation and Technology. It is managed on behalf of the BMK by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) together with Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (AWS) and the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology (ÖGUT).
