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Sign upSeptember 3, 2024
Ernest Loumaye
Annevoie
Ancient castles and sustainable energy merge seamlessly at EXTRAQT, an engineering firm specializing in aquathermal energy, a technique that uses surface water from rivers, lakes, or canals to heat and cool buildings. Founded in 2021, EXTRAQT develops energy models (digital twins) of water bodies to estimate their potential as heat and cooling sources. Closed-circuit systems with heat exchangers in the water provide year-round heating and cooling with minimal maintenance, making them ideal for projects on stagnant waters, like heritage sites. One notable application is at the Les Jardins d’Annevoie castle, where a mirror pond supplies sustainable heat through heat pumps, powering radiators and underfloor heating. This solution offered a cost-effective, sustainable renovation respectful of the building's heritage. With over 3,000 castles in Belgium alone, many on water, aquathermal energy presents a promising sustainable heating alternative for both historical and modern buildings near water sources.
Utilizing aquathermy alongside a heat pump lowers the building's CO2 emissions by 65%. This approach harnesses the energy available in the surrounding environment without negatively impacting the water body. When powered by renewable electricity, the system achieves full carbon neutrality. Economically, this solution is more advantageous than geothermal energy, as it eliminates the need for costly drilling while delivering comparable efficiency.
Aquathermy is a heating and cooling technique in which surface water from rivers, lakes or canals is used to provide buildings with heat or cold. The potential of rivers, lakes and canals is firstly calculated by use of an own developed energy model (also called digital twin). Based on these models, the technical design and installation of the aquathermal energy system follows afterwards. The projects that EXTRAQT currently carries out from A to Z, ranging from feasibility studies to operational installations, are closed aquathermal systems. In this case, heat exchangers are placed in the water, which extract the energy that is naturally stored in the water sources. By placing the exchangers directly in the water, a circuit is formed between the exchanger and the heat pump. This allows the building to be heated in a sustainable way with the energy that is in the environment. The great advantage is that they require little to no maintenance and are easy to install.
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