Novel use of energy – Steep mountain railway heats an entire hotel – News


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The Stoosbahn uses the energy generated when braking. Around 41,000 liters of heating oil can be saved each year.

The Stoosbahn advertises that it is the “steepest funicular in the world”. From Schwyz up to the Stoos (1300 meters above sea level) the incline is 110 percent in places. The railway was only built five years ago and recently it has a new energy concept.

The mountain railway uses the “recuperative energy” that is generated when braking and the waste heat from the machine room. Both will be converted and will supply the new hotel “Stoos-Lodge” with hot water.

Water tanks as heat storage

René Koch is an engineer and ropeway specialist. He explains the principle: “When starting, the train needs energy. As soon as she gets into the steep slope while driving down, it tips over. Then the electric motors give off electricity and we can recover a large part of the energy used.”

Legend:

The new hotel “Stoos-Lodge” has 101 rooms. It is right next to the yellow mountain station of the Stoosbahn.

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The process of recuperation is also used in electric cars, for example. The battery is charged when braking. The principle is not new, but the Stoosbahn is different in how efficiently the electricity can be used. Converting electricity to hot water works in a similar way to an immersion heater or kettle.

Practically no energy is lost during this conversion.

René Koch: “We heat two water tanks to around 90 degrees. You lose practically no energy during this conversion.” The two tanks hold 5000 liters of water each and are the heat accumulators. The efficiency is relatively high. The energy gained from braking and the waste heat is 410,000 kilowatt hours. This corresponds to a saving of 41,000 liters of heating oil per year.

The track was opened in 2017, the Hotel Stoos-Lodge will be ready in the next few days. In this way, energy efficiency could already be taken into account during construction. An advantage for the optimal use of the electricity generated is certainly the geographic proximity. The distance between train and hotel is short. This way no energy is wasted on the way and the proximity was also an advantage for the construction.

It is a closed-loop circular economy.

Nevertheless, the fact that warm water flows out of the showers of 100 rooms and in the wellness area in the new hotel is contractually regulated. Hotel and train are separate companies and the hotel buys the electricity from the train.

However, this calculation pays off, especially in times of high energy prices, says Marcel Neuhaus, Managing Director of Stoos Hotels: “We have the opportunity to purchase electricity from the Stoosbahn at a reduced price. This is ideal for us, because it is a circular economy in a very small space. The energy and the money stay in the village.”

Potential for other places

Switzerland is the land of mountain railways. In many places there is a restaurant or a hotel at the mountain station. For Olivier Duvanel, electrical engineer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the technology therefore has great potential. “The big advantage: we can use the losses of the drive and save fossil energy. This is a good contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.”

The application is not that complicated: “Good cooperation between cable car technology and building technology is required. If that is the case, you can get great projects off the ground.”

Stoos from the air.

Legend:

There is often a restaurant or hotel right next to a mountain station in the Swiss mountains. The idea of ​​a joint energy concept has potential.

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The new hotel on the Stoos will welcome its first guests on December 15th. After several tests, Marcel Neuhaus is confident that everything works and says with a smile: “No one needs to be cold – on the contrary: our guests can shower a little longer with a clear conscience.”

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