The municipality of Lieto sets an exemplary standard in promoting energy efficiency in its buildings, the use of renewable energy, and the circular economy. The town hall’s cooling system, renovated in the summer of 2020, provides cooling for the building and district heating for residents. The condensation heat from the cooling equipment is not released into the atmosphere but is transferred to the district heating network via a heat pump.
The old cooling unit at the Lieto town hall had been in use since the 1990s and was nearing the end of its service life, so in 2020 there was a need to acquire new equipment. At the same time, the goal was to utilize the condensation energy produced by the new cooling system as efficiently as possible. Finess Energy Oy was selected as the equipment supplier through a public tender.
Finess’s delivery package included the dismantling and recycling of the old equipment, the installation of the new equipment, piping modifications, commissioning, and staff training. The project was a success and completed according to the schedule agreed upon at the start of the project.
The new heat pump cools the cooling water circulating in the building, a process that also generates condensation heat, which the owners now wanted to reuse. The resulting 67 °C condensation heat is pumped into the district heating network, allowing other buildings connected to the network to also utilize the excess thermal energy. In this way, waste heat is reused to the maximum extent possible, and the work done by the heat pump’s compressor yields two benefits.
The new cooling system installed by Finess at the Lieto Town Hall significantly improves the building’s energy efficiency and the reuse of waste heat. The list of benefits is long:
There are only a few similar cooling systems in use in Finland, mainly in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Lieto is an exemplary municipality, which improves the municipality’s image and attractiveness.
Mechanical cooling is one source of thermal energy. In addition, it may be possible to identify other heat sources that could be utilized to maximize the heat pump’s annual utilization rate. In some cases, the heat pump could be used, for example, outside the cooling season by extracting heat from another heat source and feeding it into the district heating network.
From 2017 to 2020, the municipality of Lieto participated in the ELLE project, which helped municipalities improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and increase the use of renewable energy. One of the methods used is promoting solutions and procurement through market dialogue between municipalities and companies.
Another concept aimed at increasing carbon neutrality in municipalities and regions is Hinku. Established in 2008, it is a network dedicated to mitigating climate change, with the goal of reducing emissions by 80 percent by 2030 compared to 2007 levels. The network’s members include municipalities and regions committed to ambitious emission reductions, companies offering climate-friendly products and services, and experts in the energy and climate sectors. For more information on the Hinku network, visit the Carbon-Neutral Finland website.