Project Sea for Heritage Energy Transition - SEAHEaT, reference number 58, promotes the use of thermal energy of the sea through heat pumps in energy renovation projects of buildings that represent cultural assets. The Republic of Croatia has an extremely high density of such facilities, and their concentration is particularly pronounced in the coastal area. In Croatia, there are 102,615 protected buildings within cultural and historical units, of which 1,950 are individually protected. 44,889 are in Continental Croatia, 57,726 in Primorje Croatia, and approximately 15,000 in Istria County.
Of the individually protected buildings, 946 are public buildings, and 1,004 buildings have a residential purpose. 1,806 protected buildings were built by 1930, 143 in the period from 1931 to 1970, and 1 in the period after 1971. It is obvious that the potential, but also the need, for the inclusion of this sector in the process of energy transition is extremely great.
The project Sea for Heritage Energy Transition – SEAHEaT, reference number 58, is reported as the Holder by the Special Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation "Martin Horvat" Rovinj-Rovigno. They participate in the partner consortium donor partner from Norway, Apenhet AS, IRENA - Istrian Regional Energy Agency doo, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Shipbuilding and Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum, University of Zagreb.
The project envisages the pilot installation of a heat pump system that uses seawater as an energy source in the area of Istria County.
The aim and activities of the project are aligned with the goals of the green transition and all valid European, national and regional documents. The project is aligned with the Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan of the Republic of Croatia, the Law on Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Cogeneration, the Development Strategy of the County of Istria, it is aligned with the recommendations of the Ministry of Culture and Media for the implementation of energy renovation projects of protected buildings
For the purposes of implementing the pilot project, they were selected two buildings of the Special Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation "Martin Horvat" in Rovinj.
The special hospital for orthopedics and rehabilitation "Martin Horvat" is located on the peninsula of Sv. Pelagia opposite Rovinj's old town core. The hospital is located in a complex of buildings built in the 19th century with a total net usable area of 16,938 m2. The entire complex together with the park that surrounds it is protected as a cultural asset of great importance.
The hospital has a central heating system that uses fuel oil as an energy source. All buildings of the complex are connected by an underground hot pipe to a common engine room, which is located in a separate building in the center of the peninsula. The underground heat pipe has a long length, is of outdated construction and generates significant energy losses, which in combination with the energy used contributes to the extremely negative impact of the hospital complex on the environment. The existing heating system is based on the use of a boiler with a nominal power of 1.6 MW. Inside buildings, thermal energy is distributed by high-temperature radiators.
The total annual consumption of thermal energy (five-year average at the level of the hospital complex) is 2.74 GWh. The buildings of the complex do not have the possibility of separate measurement of thermal energy consumption.
As part of this project proposal, it is envisaged to replace the heating system in two buildings of the hospital complex, in building VII (A), which has a net useful area of 3,307 m2, and in building B, which has a net useful area of 3,294 m2. All the necessary technical documentation was prepared in 20018 and 2019, and all necessary approvals were obtained for it, including those from the competent conservation department.
The project also has an educational component. Numerous activities will be carried out during the project knowledge transfer. Two will be organized study trips and familiarization with good practices of using thermal energy of the sea, one in Croatia, the other in Norway. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Shipbuilding and the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum of the University of Zagreb will organize two specialized seminars for designers and installers who want to get involved in projects using sea thermal energy. A seminar will be organized in the County of Istria "Sea Energy Days", a three-day event that will be aimed at conservators, designers, installers, but also citizens, local and regional self-government units and students of secondary technical schools. The cooperation of these two higher education institutions on the project covers the entire area of installation of such systems and lays the foundations for future development.
The project will also result in production professional articles, also by analyzing the potential of expanding the system in the complex of the Special Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation "Martin Horvat". It will also be created and guidelines and recommendations for the use of sea thermal energy in the process of energy transition of protected buildings. The project will ensure permanent visibility of the results through a web page with an integrated monitoring system for both plants. The sustainability of the results will be ensured by the implementation of other promotional activities, especially the production of a documentary video and an online promotional digital story that presents the use of thermal energy from the sea in protected buildings. Implemented pilot installations, planned transfer of knowledge and provision of foundations for future investments, "Increased production of energy from renewable sources", "Installed capacities for the use of energy from renewable sources" and "Strengthened capacities for management and promotion of renewable energy sources"
The project Sea for Heritage Energy Transition - SEAHEaT, reference number 58, is financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) 2014-2021. with national co-financing of the Republic of Croatia in the amount of EUR 955,208.26 in grants under the "Energy and Climate Change" Program.
The aim and activities of the project are aligned with the goals of the green transition and all valid European, national and regional documents. The project is aligned with the Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan of the Republic of Croatia, the Law on Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Cogeneration, the Development Strategy of the County of Istria, and is aligned with the recommendations of the Ministry of Culture and Media for the implementation of energy renovation projects of protected buildings. Also among the goals are the promotion of the installation of heat pumps that use sea water, the pilot project of the energy renovation of a building that has the status of a cultural asset using the heat pump and sea water as the basic energy source, the cooperation with the donor partner and the capacity building of a wide range of participants through the cooperation with higher education institutions specialized in this area.
The content of this website is the sole responsibility of the Special Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation "Martin Horvat" Rovinj-Rovigno and can in no way be considered to reflect the views of the "Energy and Climate Change" Program Manager.
External links:
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