On Thursday, January 15, the new energy roof of the City Hall was put into use. The roof has 332 special solar panels installed: PVT panels that generate electricity and heat. Additionally, 556 m2 of greenery has been added. The buildings energy label improves from A++ to A++++.
Within the Municipality of Eindhoven, the program Smart Sustainability of Municipal Buildings (SVGG) is active. This program is a collaboration between the municipality and a consortium of market parties under the name !mpuls BV. Among others, the sustainability of the City Hall, the City Hall Tower, and Mercado has been carried out.
Alderman Rik Thijs (Climate and Energy): Its great that we as a municipality can set an example to make our buildings more sustainable. We share the knowledge so that other building owners can use it.
What is the importance of this energy roof?
The roof of the City Hall is equipped with PVT panels that generate electricity (PV part) and heat (thermal part). This heat is used in the City Hall and for future buildings around the City Hall Square. Through the Smart Thermal Grid (STG) project, the connection of other buildings in the area to this system is being implemented. The STG consists of a pipeline network connected to Heat Cold Storage sources (WKO), allowing heat and cold to be exchanged between buildings.
Between the panels, a total of 556 m2 of vegetation has been added. These are various types of sedum and wildflowers, very suitable for bees and insects. Nesting places have also been placed for, among others, swift birds and bats. The existing buffer capacity for rainwater has been increased by 4.65 m3 due to the green roof.
The placement of the panels and greenery is partly motivated by the monumental status of the City Hall. This creates a good balance between the monumental status and the sustainability of this building.
What does it yield for the municipality?
The energy roof on the City Hall aims for an energy yield of 119 MWh/year. Additionally, heat is delivered to the Heat Cold Storage (WKO) via the PVT panels. By storing this heat in the WKO during summer, it can be used for heating the building in winter. This system saves about 60 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to the annual consumption of over 28 households.
The total construction costs for this project are approximately 1.7 million euros. This is paid from the SVGG program. Additionally, the municipality receives a large contribution from the national government in the form of a DuMaVa subsidy, about 30% of the project budget.