Sustainability in Engelbrg

Engelberg carries the "Energiestadt" label since 2011. In addition, since the 2019/2020 winter season, the Engelberg heating plant has increasingly been supplying houses and hotels in the region with district heating.

ENERGIESTADT ENGELBERG

The Label Energiestadt (european energy award) is a performance certificate for municipalities that municipalities that exemplify and implement a sustainable municipal energy policy. The cantons and EnergieSchweiz support "Energiestädte" with financial resources and tools for their task as active and innovative communes. Engelberg has been entitled to use this title since 2011 and is doing everything in its power to more than live up to this title with a comprehensive range of products.

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ENGELBERG HEATING PLANT 

Since the winter season 2019/2020, ecological heat from domestic wood chips can be supplied to the village centre of Engelberg via district heating pipelines. Together with the heating plant of the Benedictine monastery and the showpiece project Heating Plant Engelberg offers enough capacity to supply 60% of households in Engelberg with ecological electricity.  
The advantage of a district heating system is that heat can be generated centrally for an entire region and not in each building individually. In Engelberg, this heat is generated in the heating plant "Ghärstli", which has found an optimal location at the entrance to the village. First priority is given to wood from the Engelberg Forest, further wood is sourced from the region of Central Switzerland. The consumption of firewood from the Engelberg Forest is safe thanks to Engelberg's sophisticated forestry system.

  • In future, the 5*-Hotel Palace Engelberg Titlis will also be operated with the ecological heat from the heating plant. This will save around 2.5 million litres of heating oil or 6,600 tonnes of CO2.  
  • Energy in Engelberg is planned for the long term. Over a period of 10 - 15 years, 90 % of Engelberg's electricity consumption is to be covered by renewable and ecological energy.

 

 

HOW DISTRICT HEATING IS GENERATED IN ENGELBERG

One can imagine this heating plant as a large central heating system, where the heat is produced and then to supply 60% of the community of Engelberg with energy. 

District heating in the form of hot water reaches the properties via a well-insulated pipe network. The district heating network consists of two pipes, the supply and return, which form a closed water system. The supply brings the hot water from the heat production plants to the customers.
Depending on the outside temperature, the water usually has a temperature of 90 to 120 °C. The return flow brings the water, which has cooled down to around 50 °C, back to the heat production plant, which heats it up again - the cycle starts all over again. The heat is transferred to the heat consumers by means of a transfer station: By means of heat exchangers, the heat is transferred to the common heating system of the connected buildings.
The connection to a district heating network is a price-stable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional heating systems

 

 

 

 


Wood as an energy source is characterised by stable market prices. When a building is connected to a district heating system, it receives financial support from the government and the canton through support programmes.


District heating is clean and user-friendly. The operation is free of noise and odours.
In addition, the installations for heat exchange require very little space.

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