Summary
Weber Hydraulics GmbH is a leading producer of hydraulic products with currently 170 employees in Losenstein/Upper Austria. The company has been expanding over the past few years and therefore, a new production building with 3,400 m² was constructed. Instead of just enlarging the existing oil heating system, a new biomass heating system was installed for the whole plant. The management decided to use the Third Party Financing scheme and to source out the planning and the operation of the new heating system to an ESCO. Based on a tendering process, Ing. Aigner Wasser - Wärme - Umwelt GmbH was chosen. This ESCO is not only in charge of the construction and financing, but also the operation, servicing and maintenance is undertaken by the ESCO.
The total investment cost of the project was around 129,000 Euro.
Results
Weber Hydraulics changed its heating system from oil to biomass. The company installed a modern biomass heating system with wood chips, financed via third party financing. Two Fröling biomass boilers were installed with a total capacity of 585 kW for the provision of space and process heat. With two separate boilers the heating system can be operated with an optimised efficiency during the whole year, for the heating of around 8.800 m2 space. The annual heat demand of 720 MWh is covered to 100% with biomass.
The ESCO undertakes the whole financing, planning and construction, as well as the future operation and servicing of the heating plant.
By substituting oil with wood chips, around 12,000 Euro can be saved annually. Additionally there is a significant positive effect for the environment because of the reduction of CO2 emissions of around 187 t/year, compared to a heat supply based on fossil fuel. O.Ö. Energiesparverband supported Weber Hydraulics in this project.
Lessons learned and repeatability
A recommendation from Weber Hydraulics is to start the planning for the heating system at least one year before the start of construction, especially to have enough time for metering the current heat demand for the dimensioning the new boilers. By installing two boilers with different capacities, the operation of the heating system during the whole year can be optimised.
By financing the project via a third party financing scheme the company did not have any investment costs and does not have any technical and financial risks. The company does not have to take care of the maintenance, the operation of the heating system, especially the fuel supply, and can calculate its energy costs because of the heat supply contract with the contractor, for a period of 15 years.
By regularly meetings with the ESCO, at least once a year, possible improvements of the heating system can be discussed and implemented. The staff of Weber Hydraulics - which is very satisfied with the whole project - sees the communication with the ESCO as one of the most important factors of a successful third party finance scheme.
To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Biomass & Bioenergy
: ESCOs
: Energy Efficiency
: Heat/Heating
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: ManagEnergy
: Renewable Energy Sources & Systems
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Case Study (190 Kb PDF)