3-YEAR MONITORING RESULTS AND EXPERIENCES WITH AN AQUIFER THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM IN A BELGIAN HOSPITAL
The first aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system of Belgium went in operation in 1998. Until today, besides various small installations, over ten large (> 500 kWt) ATES systems were installed for different applications. This paper provides an overview of 3- years monitoring of the ATES system combined with a heat pump in a Belgian hospital. 78% of the cooling energy was delivered by the ATES system given a primary energy saving of 11,789 GJ comparing to a conventional cooling application. This resulted in a 63% CO2 emission reduction. The implementation of the ATES technology went together with some unavoidable growing pains. Some of these problems were caused by the unusual combination of technologies and working parties. Drilling companies get involved in the process of HVAC installation. Most critical are the connection points between the traditional and innovative installation part, defined as the boundary zone between the underground and aboveground installation. As typical example, the communication between the control systems of the HVAC and the ATES system can be mentioned.