One local heating network in Stellshagen

Only 10 kilometres from the Baltic Sea, surrounded by the peaceful meadows of Damshagen, lies the village of Stellshagen. Here, the “Gutshaus Stellshagen” bio-hotel attracts visitors from all over the place. A few years ago, a wood-chip burner installation was put into operation here, which managed to reduce the cost of heating and hot water by 50%. This success story persuaded the majority of the Stellshageners to extend that renewable energy concept to the village too.

A fully self-sufficient, renewable energy supply that is both sustainable, yet easy to implement was the goal for the residents of Stellshagen. The energy produced by a heating plant fuelled by forestry timber, residual timber and timber from rural conservation in the region, is transferred to the connected buildings by an energy-efficient local heating network, ensuring an eco-friendly and economical heat and power supply that is independent from fossil energy sources.

The HWS Holzwärme Stellshagen cooperative was born. In their commendable unity, an initial construction stage saw around 450.000 Euro invested in a central boiler house, a 200 kWh wood-chip heating system, and a thermal solar system of 96 m2. To ensure a swift and sound distribution of that energy in an efficient, and sustainable solution, Thermaflex joined the party.

To optimize the energy efficiency of the local heating network, particular attention was paid to distribution. The project planners – Ingenieurgesellschaft Schiller & Drobka mbH – recommended our pre-insulated, flexible Flexalen pipe system, which proved its value in several of their other projects already.

The sustainable corrosion, pressure and temperature resistance of our systems proved highly suitable for this application. The advantage of homogeneous welding could further secure a full-proof performance of the network . Thanks to our extensive range of sizes, tailored parts and specialized tools, a quick and easily implementation of the complex network could be realized. For the connection of the heating plant to 14 homes, a hotel and further prospective housing in Stellshagen, around 1.2 km of Flexalen was installed in both single and double pipelines, securing an efficient and future-proof heating network.

By now, 14 homes and an outbuilding of the “Gutshaus Stellshagen” hotel are supplied with heating and hot water from central wood-chip energy generation. More than a kilometer of pre-insulated, flexible pipes were laid for the local heating system, to ensure energy-efficient heat distribution.

Our innovative Flexalen pipe system is the major reason why the residents of Stellshagen are the first in the region to have their own centralized heat supply, that is both ecologically and economically sensible and efficient. And this is just the start – they are planning to expand the heating plant already!