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Title of the measure/initiative: Solar collector system investment of the Social Home of the Municipality of Budapest for Mentally Disabled

Name of the organisation: Social Home of the Municipality of Budapest for Mentally Disabled

Status of the organisation: Social organization

Address: H-2463 Tordas, Gesztenyés út 1

Contact person: Szénási ZoltánPhone: +36 22 467 199 E-mail: info@minosegtordas.huWeb site : www.minosegtordas.hu

Topic (multiple answers are possible)

X Public SectorX Private Sector Large Industrial BuildingsX Solar Plants District Heating Wind Biomass Geothermal energyX Energy saving Energy efficiency Energy concepts Other, please specify ___________________________________________

Stakeholders (multiple answers are possible)

X CitizensX Households Property owners PolicymakersX Local and regional authorities Energy service company (ESCO’s)X Architects and engineers Other, please specify ____________________________________________

BACKGROUNDThe social home for 260 people with mental disabilities in Tordas invested in a solar collector system for its warm water supply in 2004. The owner of the social home is the Municipality of Budapest; the contractor for the investment was the Naplopó Ltd., an expert in solar heating systems.

OBJECTIVES

The idea for the project was born after studying a solar collector displayed for demonstration purposes in the town. The solar energy is utilized by a 64m² solar collector surface, which produces an annual amount of 155 GJ heat energy. This amount usually satisfies the warm water demand of the main building for bathing (200 people).

PROCESSThe warm water is heated by 32 Heliostar solar collectors type 300 N2L, which are integrated at an angle of 45 degrees into the south-east oriented roof. The heating system furthermore includes 2 storage tanks of1 000 litres placed in the boiler room in the attic as well as the

piping, a heat exchanger and measuring and safety equipment. The system operates with two circuits; the primary circuit is filled with a heat-transfer fluid while the secondary circuit uses water. Regulated by HC-2 type microprocessors, the system operates fully automatically and can also be used without supervision. The maximal output of the solar collectors is 45 kW and, depending on weather conditions, the 64m² surface area can produce about 43 125 kWh heat energy annually. The biggest demand for hot water arises in winter, although the collectors operate at their lowest efficiency then. Thus in winter it is not possible to achieve a high level of efficiency, whilst during the rest of the year the capacity utilization is mostly 100%. The building is heated primarily with natural gas heat modules, so the solar collectors help to reduce the amount of natural gas consumed.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND PARTNERSThe investment amounted to EUR 30 000 (HUF 7 500 000), of which 30% was covered with State support from the National Energy Saving Program, whilst the remainder was financed by the social home’s own resources.

RESULTSDue to the solar energy investment the use of natural gas for heating can be reduced by approx. 10 000 m3 annually. Thus with environmentally friendly water heating the institution achieves a significant saving in greenhouse gas emissions. The social home succeeded in decreasing its expenses by approx. EUR 3 200 per year which is a great relief for the institution, in a difficult financial situation. The savings are achieved by the reduced demand for natural gas.

LESSONS LEARNED AND REPEATABILTYThe system was installed and put in operation by experts of Naplopó Ltd. As the system is fully automatic, no personnel are needed for running it. The maintenance can be fulfilled by the maintenance engineers of the social home with the help of the instruction manual. The social home has welcomed several visitors and groups interested in the new solar collector heating system. The contractor uses the investment as a reference.There are plans to install (as soon as conditions will allow it) further solar collectors on the roofs of 4 additional houses (accommodating 15 people each). Furthermore the management would also like to supply the heat for the laundry and the kitchens situated in the main building by solar collectors.Besides solar energy, the management has thought of utilizing other kinds of renewable energy sources for the social home, e.g. by installing a small wind turbine or a pellet oven. These ideas need to be assessed in depth in the future

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