Groundwater heat pump & concrete core activation

The supply and function of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in the existing and new buildings is ensured by four heat pumps and two groundwater pumps with heat exchangers, which are fed with groundwater from a depth of 8-13 meters. We use green electricity from hydroelectric power plants to power the heat pumps.

5,500 m of plastic pipes are laid in the concrete ceiling. The flow of water ensures the base load in our offices for heating in winter and cooling in summer.

Controlled ventilation system & conservatory

In our buildings, the rest of the ventilation concept is based on a controlled ventilation system. The heat pump is used to heat fresh air before it is fed into the rooms. The used air is recycled by means of an installed heat recovery system.

Our conservatory serves as a heat buffer for our warehouse in the existing building. The excess heat generated is used to heat the warehouse with a volume of 30,000 m³ in winter and during the transitional period.

Green roof & timber construction of the hall roof

The green roof on our office building helps keep the office spaces below cool in the summer. In addition, the green roof can help improve the local microclimate.

The special construction of our hall roofs is a combination of a wooden underside and a wooden top side with a layer of rock wool in between. Images from a thermal imaging camera show almost low-energy standards – a real rarity in industrial construction.

Photovoltaic system

Our first photovoltaic system with a grid feed-in of more than 16,000 kWh per year is located on an area of 200 m² in the extension of the conservatory. Two further systems are located on the almost 10,000 m² hall roofs. With a total peak output of 500 kWp, this will save around 300,000 kg of carbon dioxide per year. By using green electricity, using our own electricity and feeding it into the local energy grid, we are already generating more CO²-free energy than we actually consume and are thus also completely dispensing with fossil fuels.

Lighting & light building element

Only energy-saving LED lighting is used in the extension with the integrated Feinsinn – organic store and gourmet kitchen. Thanks to motion detectors in the warehouse, the LED lighting is only in use when work is being carried out in the warehouse and is therefore very energy-efficient.

A wall area of almost 1000 m² on the south/east side of our building allows a pleasant light orange light to enter the warehouses, thus considerably reducing the use of artificial light. These specially manufactured wall elements reflect the sun’s steep rays in summer. On the other hand, low incident sunlight in the winter months is let through and warms the hall.

Rainwater utilization & use of exhaust air heat

A rainwater storage tank supplies water to our garden and pond.

The exhaust air from the cooling systems in our Feinsinn organic food store and gourmet kitchen and in the Byodo warehouse is used to heat the service water and the entire building in two heat recovery tanks with direct condensation. This means that we do not need to use additional energy to heat the water.

Take a look behind the scenes at our office building

How is our office building designed, and what measures do we take to use energy responsibly? Join us for a tour of the Byodo Building.

Concrete as the building material for the extension

The extension was constructed using precast concrete elements and in-situ concrete structures.

According to the Precast Concrete Association, concrete façades have a positive impact on the sustainability of a building:

• Long service life & high durability
• Can be dismantled and recycled
• Easy to maintain and low-maintenance
• Practically almost thermal bridge-free design
• Positive indoor climate thanks to the thermal storage capacity of concrete in summer heat insulation

Ecological raw materials

In addition to concrete, there are also two special floors in the extension. The ecological Wineo Purline floor on the first floor, a permanently elastic polyurethane floor covering – free from chlorine, solvents and plasticizers – made from rapeseed and castor oil (renewable raw materials) and chalk and the Noraplan unita, a rubber floor free from PVC, plasticizers (phthalates) and halogens.

In addition, energy-saving, state-of-the-art LED lighting is used in the warehouse and in the new Feinsinn building.

Local Sourcing and Energy-Efficient Construction

Untreated wood from the region was used for the natural wood trusses above the Grüne Mitte. The roof structure is fitted with triple-pane thermal insulation glass with a U-value of 0.7 W/m²K.

We also made sure to keep travel distances short when selecting construction companies: 95% of the companies were located within 30 km.

Heating, Ventilation, and Energy Technology

When planning our heating and ventilation systems, we focused on the efficient use of existing energy. Two direct-condensation heat recovery storage units utilize the heat generated during refrigeration to heat domestic hot water and heat the building.

Our refrigeration plant uses a multi-compressor system and demand-controlled refrigeration compressors for both standard and deep-freeze applications. This allows refrigeration output to be adjusted to meet specific needs.

The space is cooled using groundwater at a temperature of approximately 13 °C. The heat supply is provided by a groundwater heat pump operating in water-to-water mode.

According to our calculations, the energy plan can save approximately 300,000 kWh of energy annually, thereby preventing the emission of about 200 metric tons of CO₂.

The energy concept is complemented by a 263 kWp photovoltaic system for on-site power generation and an on-site electric vehicle charging station, which is available to our customers free of charge.