Solar & Geothermal Heat

The combination of solar and geothermal heat from RHEINZINK has proven to be a successful and sustainable symbiosis. Unlike conventional solar panels that only work with direct and diffuse solar irradiation, RHEINZINK SolarThermie also utilises the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air as sources of heat. In addition, the system’s panels take advantage of heat collected from condensation water. These special features are only offered by solar-geothermal systems. Meanwhile, RHEINZINK SolarThermie can be integrated into geothermal circuits by means of heat pumps.

Functional principle
In the winter, the heat pump extracts energy from the substratum by means of geothermal probes in order to heat the adjacent building. In the summer, energy is transferred from the solar installation to the substratum. As a result, the ground has more energy in the winter, which increases the efficiency of the heat pump and requires less electricity. In addition, the costs of drilling are reduced thanks to shorter geothermal probes.

The benefits
Due to the higher temperature of its source, the heat pump’s seasonal performance factor increases. Since the seasonal performance factor is a measure of the pump’s efficiency, this in turn has a highly positive effect on the system’s primary energy conservation and operating costs. The pump’s efficiency is also what determines both the system’s actual energy consumption and its CO2 reduction.