Communications and Marketing
H-BRS student calculates efficiency of river heat pumps at low water levels
In view of the rise in global temperatures, the use of renewable energies is more important than ever. In 2023, only just under a fifth of heat in Germany came from renewable sources. Electric flow heat pumps could help to increase this proportion. They work in a similar way to heat pumps in buildings. The heat is not extracted from the air, but from a small amount of river water. The temperature of the pumped water is then increased by a thermodynamic process. The heated liquid can then be fed into the heating system of a building, for example. Once the heat has been released, the cooled water is returned to the river. The water does not come into contact with the refrigerant or other chemical substances.
River heat pumps are particularly effective in regions with stable water levels and temperatures. This is where Antonius Ashadhiarto Wiryanto's scientific work comes in. In his Bachelor's thesis at H-BRS, the economics student calculated whether river heat pumps also work efficiently at low water levels and what impact this could have on the water. His analysis of a section of the Rhine near Cologne was based on a river heat pump that was put into operation on the Rhine near Mannheim in October 2023.
“The use of three river heat pumps with a total output of around 60 megawatts could supply around 10,000 households in Cologne for the next 30 years.
Kontakt
Wiltrud Terlau
Professor of Economics, Resilient and Sustainable Development, Director of the International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE), Department of Economics
Research fields
Location
Rheinbach
Room
B 111
Address
von-Liebig-Straße 20
53359, Rheinbach
Telephone
+49 2241 865 410Location
Sankt Augustin
Room
Raum G 039
Address
Grantham-Allee 20,
53757, Sankt Augustin
Angelika Fiedler
Project Manager Marketing and Public Relations "Sustainability Communication", Project Manager H-BRS Sustainability
Location
Sankt Augustin
Room
F 411
Address
Grantham-Allee 20
53757, Sankt Augustin
Telephone
+49 2241 865 9821