EINSTEIN (Effective INtegration of Seasonal Thermal energy storage in ExIsting BuildiNgs) is a €9m EU project funded under the FP7 programme and involves 17 European partners.

The overall objective of EINSTEIN is:

“the development, evaluation and demonstration of a low energy heating system based on Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) systems in combination with Heat Pumps for space heating and domestic hot water (DHW) requirements for existing buildings to drastically reduce energy consumption in buildings.”

A key element of the project is to adapt STES to be applied in existing buildings. This paper reports on the initial results of monitoring a STES which is integrated into a solar thermal heating system which is used to supply heat to a multiuse development in Lysekil, Sweden. The refurbished building being monitored has a heated floor area of 381 m² and comprises four shop units on the ground floor and two two-bedroom apartments on the first floor.

A 50 m² solar array in conjunction with a 3300 L buffer tank is used in combination with the seasonal thermal energy store of 23 m³ as the primary heat source for the building. This is supplemented with a connection with the district heating system in the town and electric heating.

This paper provides an overview of the Einstein project and the initial results of the monitoring of the installation described.

The Scandinavian Homes webiste carries more photographs of the solar installation in the renovated building