Germany’s leading designer and manufacturer of renewable energy products Stiebel Eltron recently opened the Energy Campus, a new cutting-edge reality lab featuring the house of the future. The lab has already received platinum certification by the German Sustainable Building Council – the highest rating ever awarded to a building in the ‘educational facilities’ category.

In his address at the official opening of the lab, Stiebel Eltron Chairman Rudolf Sonnemann said the Energy Campus demonstrates that the house of the future can be successfully realised with the transition to renewable energies.

Representing the ongoing transition to renewable energy sources, the new reality lab offers innovative technology and training opportunities packaged in impressive architecture. It is powered by three energy sources – groundwater, air and solar – with the Stiebel Eltron heat pump technology being a key element of the heating and cooling supply for the Energy Campus. The integrated concept is supplemented by an optimised building shell as well as the photovoltaic system integrated in the facade and roof with a total power output of around 120 kWp. The green power is used for the heat pump system as well as operation of the equipment in the building.

According to Sonnemann, the Energy Campus offers their specialist partners theoretical and practical training opportunities, including innovative solutions for simulating extreme environmental conditions prevalent in different regions around the globe.

Staff and customers can gain hands-on experience in themed areas such as ‘heat pump systems’, ‘ventilation systems’, ‘hot water’ and ‘installation centre’. All products are linked to outstanding presentation systems, with large visualisations showing different parameters for each solution, and the interaction of different components can be observed and analysed in real time.

Being an energy-plus building, the Energy Campus is both a generating station and an accumulator for renewable energy. Feature highlights of the reality lab include a large thermal buffer cylinder and hot water cylinder enabling delayed use of generated energy; and intelligent energy management including an electric mobility charging station in front of the building with charging points for electric cars and e-bikes.

Karlheinz Reitze, Director of Sales and Marketing is convinced that “in the future the Energy Campus will be a supra-regional, national and international magnet for all market partners – such as architects, planners, energy consultants, wholesalers and tradesmen”.

Stiebel Eltron (Aust) personnel have already started their training at the Energy Campus and are bringing this understanding and experience gained to the Australian market. They are able to guide commercial and domestic consumers through the many options when selecting systems that harvest natural energy, reduce electricity consumption and lower energy bills. Customers throughout Australia, therefore, continue to benefit from research by Stiebel Eltron that has been at the forefront of the development of renewable energy products for forty years.