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varmeco relies on green heating technology: Modernization with heat pump and solar thermal in real operation
What happens when new products supplement an existing heating system? How can climate-friendly heat sources be gradually made available in existing buildings? This is what the company varmeco (Kaufbeuren), developer and manufacturer of heating technology products and specialist for intelligent heat management, wants to know.
„The conversion of existing systems often presents challenges,“ says Philipp Stockklausner , Managing Director at varmeco. He is responsible for a modernization project that is turning varmeco into a green company. The natural gas cogeneration plant was dismantled for this; the heating storage tank, the heating and hot water network and the solar thermal system remained in use. Two heat pumps and PVT collectors, which temporarily store their heat in a new 3,000-liter low-temperature (LT) storage tank, are new. In addition, the existing eXergiemaschine a second one to the side. The two eXergiemaschinen use the temperatures of the NT storage tank and boost them to a more usable level. This concept enables the most efficient operation of the heat pumps. A wood pellet boiler is installed as a backup. In addition, a new photovoltaic system with 180 kWp ensures a high degree of self-sufficiency for the electricity-powered heating solution, which now supplies the administration, production and warehouse with heat and hot water - efficiently and CO2-free.
„Worst-case scenario“ simulated
Heating specialist varmeco chose a rocky path to becoming a green company: „Instead of renewing the hydraulics, we decided to let the system grow and thus build a ‚worst-case heating system‘,“ reports the Managing Director. „We wanted to simulate the conditions that can occur when renovating residential buildings or hotels - and these are usually not ideal.“ For example, varmeco couples the high temperatures of the solar thermal energy and the low-temperature heat of the new PVT collectors via two different solar stations on one line. This would be avoided with a new system. The parallel operation of two eXergiemaschinen for raising the temperature to over 60 degrees is also rather rare. In summer 2026, varmeco would like to evaluate how well the management of its own heating technology works. Ideally, the system can prioritize solar heating and rarely runs the heat pumps and never runs the pellet boiler. „Whatever comes out of this ‚self-experiment‘ will help us to optimize the control technology of our products,“ promises Stockklausner.
The successful modernization makes it clear: With innovative solutions such as heat pumps, solar thermal energy and intelligent control technology, a sustainable and CO₂-free heat supply is already possible today - even in demanding real-life operation. varmeco has all these proven solutions in its product portfolio and sets a good example and shows how the path to becoming a „green company“ can be achieved in its own portfolio.
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Frequently asked, simply explained
From a physical point of view, energy is always conserved. However, it consists of usable parts, the exergy, and not directly usable parts, the so-called anergy.
Energy = exergy + anergy
In technical thermodynamics, exergy refers to the part of the energy that can perform work. In heating technology, exergy is the part that leads to heat flows due to the higher temperature level and thus makes space heating and domestic hot water heating possible in the first place.
Exergy, the proportion of energy that determines whether heat is usable, must be given greater focus. After all, exergy optimization is the key to system efficiency.
If the different temperature ranges of a well-stratified water storage tank are completely mixed, the water ends up with a uniform average temperature.
The energy content of the storage tank remains unchanged. During this process, the hot water transfers its heat to the colder water. This means that the exergy that existed at the higher temperature level compared to the average temperature and was required, for example, for
which would be necessary to heat drinking water, has disappeared, irretrievably, irreversibly. Exergy has become anergy. Anergy is energy that can no longer be used (without a new supply of energy). Only by using auxiliary means (e.g. electricity) can it be used again.
exergy arise.
In contrast to energy, exergy can therefore be reduced or even completely destroyed.
The varmeco fresh water technology uses instantaneous water heaters to heat domestic hot water only when required, eliminating the need to store it in a domestic hot water tank and inhibiting the growth of germs (e.g. legionella). The integrated VarCon211 controller only activates the charging pump when drinking water is required, which saves energy and ensures hygiene at the same time.
Thanks to the separation of heating and domestic hot water and adaptive control, the system adapts optimally to daily requirements. The circulation pump control keeps the domestic hot water at the right temperature and prevents the proliferation of legionella bacteria, ensuring a high level of hot water comfort and safety.
The eXergiemaschine recycles waste heat that escapes unused in many businesses and turns it into usable heat. It raises the temperature of the waste heat to a usable level and simultaneously cools the lower part of the heat storage tank, which improves the efficiency of the heat sources. This efficient use saves energy and is easy on both the wallet and the environment.
The eXergiemaschine is a special heat pump that enables high source temperatures and a wide temperature spread. This makes it an ideal partner for renewable energy systems, such as solar thermal and hybrid modules, which work more efficiently and supply more energy.
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