Wannenkopfhütte is a traditional mountain refuge and resort in the Bavarian Alps offering shelter, accommodation and food to hikers in the summer and skiers in the winter. Over the last years the number of guests has risen as the team now offers meeting and event facilities as well as outdoor activities. The owners are planning to reduce the CO2 per guest by one third. How can this be done?
The property lies 1,350 metres above sea level in an Alpine landscape. To maintain and protect the landscape is very close to the heart of Mr. Reisigl who owns the business: ‘We live in nature and from nature. If we damage nature, we will damage our livelihood. Preservation is therefore uppermost in our thoughts.’
There is no road to Wannenkopfhütte and it can only be reached on foot, with an off-road vehicle or snowmobile in winter. The building is a traditional wooden structure and it is very important that its original character is maintained. Although Wannenkopfhütte offers the latest in hospitality, its energy technology is well behind the curve and a throwback to the past – the building is not on the grid so electricity is produced by a diesel generator belching out fumes and noise. All the pipe work and infrastructure is old and not insulated. Overall the energy supply is very inefficient and costly. Water comes from a source on the land nearby and waste water is treated in a small sewage plant.
To reduce the CO2 emissions by one third per guest the following changes will be introduced: A wood burner will be introduced in the guest room making sure the place is snug and warm on long winter evenings. A combined heat and power (CPH) plant will be installed to heat the guest rooms and to generate electricity. The CPH can run on gas, plant oil or wood pellets, which come from the forest in the vicinity. Electricity generation will be supported by photovoltaics. In the depth of winter the Wannenkopfhütte frequently gets snowed in so the systems will have to be robust enough to keep the place running for several days without support from the outside world.
Our big challange is to get exisiting and old building stock ready for a low carbon future. Wannenkopfhütte is a best practice example in this area. www.wannenkopfhuette.de