In our campus PXL Tech, technology is at the centre of things. Multiple projects are concluded successfully to enhance comfort and optimise (reduce energy consumption.
The ‘Eisspeicher’ or ‘ice buffer’ project will help to make our campus more sustainable. The company Encon donated the buffer. We will connect this ice buffering technology to the existing Focus-project ‘Optimisation of energy flows’ where a heat pump cools and heats energy efficient and sustainably.

By connecting the ice buffer to the existing energy flow system heating and cooling will become more efficient. This technology allows to use free cooling in summer at high temperature without the classic air conditioning systems. There is only one very efficient pump (just a few watts of electrical power) needed to provide one class room with cooling from the ice buffer. In the near future this will be extended tot more class rooms with high performant ventilo convectors. These convectors can also be used for heating during the winter.

In winter the heat pump will extract heat from the ice buffer. There will be icing in the buffer. On the very cold winter days the ground heat (10°C) next to the ice buffer will make sure there is not to much icing in the buffer. In the spring more icing is allowed. By the time the most cooling is needed, there will be enough ice in the buffer to provide for summer cooling.

The strength of this project is the teamwork between campus facilities, teachers and junior colleagues. This is a win-win-win for our campus in Diepenbeek where a sustainable living-lab is used to educate the junior colleagues with a hands on approach.