Heat pump and ice storage for heating and cooling an energy neutral German office building

Schnepf, a German company, has designed its new 2,500 m2 office building with an innovative energy concept, combining ice storage, a heat pump and solar energy. The centrepiece of the facility is a subterranean ice tank with a 350 m³ capacity and around 6 km of closed-loop piping. Filled with a mixture of water and anti-freeze, this serves as a heat exchanger for the brine/water heat pump installed within the building.