Sustainable cooling of buildings thanks to energy geo-structures
© 2019 EPFL
Energy geo-structures, coupling sustainable heating and cooling potentials, make the list of promising solutions at the service of swiss municipalities.
During its summer edition, the association of swiss municipalities (Association des Communes Suisses) voiced concerns about climate change, its impacts and the corresponding course of action. It is in this context that energy geo-structures made the list of promising solutions for buildings, at the time when multiple heatwaves rhythmed the swiss summer, as it is not only possible to heat buildings through the use of geo-structures, but also possible to sustainably cool them using the same system.
Energy geo-structures, capable of extracting underground energy for heating purposes, may also perfectly lend themselves to an opposite utilization during summer. “Heating and cooling, it’s a win-win situation!” reads the article, as beyond the harnessed thermal comfort, the durability and efficiency of the system are also enhanced. The article elates all the environmental and economic benefits of the technology, and provides some feedback and lessons learned from the municipality of Fully (VS).