Green Prague Congress Centre

We feel responsible for the environment and therefore we draw energy from renewable resources. The purest energy is the one that we don’t consume. Our long-term goal is to reduce overall energy consumption. Since 2016, when a number of energy-saving measures were implemented in the framework of the modernisation of the Prague Congress Centre, we managed to reduce energy costs by 21 million CZK a year.

Expected savings:

What changes have helped us to save?

• Modernisation of the central boiler room, which is now fitted with 4 new boilers.
• The new cogeneration unit looks like an engine from a really big truck and can make electricity and heat out of fuel. If there’s a breakdown in energy, the Prague Congress Centre can continue to work thanks to this unit.
• Reconstructed air conditioning is controlled by dozens of CO2 sensors deployed throughout the building. The number of fan speeds will only start to increase when the amount of CO2 in the expelled air starts to increase. This saves the electricity needed to operate the air conditioning, as well as the energy for heating or cooling the injected air.
• Design LED lamps replaced old lamps. They not only look good but they’re also economical and allow for fluent light intensity control. And when needed, it shines at the limit of hygiene standards. This is also how the lights in the underground garages work. This simple trick saves tens of thousands of Czech crowns per-annum.
• Ordinary water-savers and EKO WC flushing "with a short and long flush" can surprisingly reduce the water consumption by thousands of litres of water per-annum.
• Measurement and control systems designed to maintain a quality indoor environment where visitors and staff can feel comfortable.

These elements are like the instruments in an orchestra - their alignment creates the final effect:

• Waste air, this is the air that is drawn from the halls, heats the fresh air in the winter, which is drawn from the Nusel Valley, in the summer it’s the opposite way around.
• The heat from the cogeneration unit is used for heating and pre-heating domestic hot water.
• Heat from flue gases, which would normally pass through the chimney, is also used. In the Prague Congress Centre this is first used to heat the air, which is necessary for combustion in boilers. If the ice outdoor air is fed into the boilers, the temperature would be unnecessarily reduced and therefore their effectiveness. The flue gas colour determines that this process works. The whiter, the higher the temperature. If they’re barely visible, they pass on their heat.
• Heat generated on the southern, sunlit side of the building is used to heat the rooms located on the northern side.

The conductors of this orchestra are dispatchers. Their outstanding help is an individual temperature control system (IRC) in individual rooms, which allows the automatic adjustment of temperatures according to the building programme as well as the use. Temperature in the meeting rooms is set higher, on the other hand, the temperature in the toilets, corridors and staircases is one to two degrees lower. Also, space occupancy is considered. Each viewer „adds“ their own heat, so it’s necessary to warm the rooms adequately to provide thermal comfort for the event’s duration. This is what the computers in the dispatch office are doing.

The project at the Prague Congress Centre was implemented in the form of energy services with savings guarantee (EPC)*, where the costs of modernisation are covered by future energy savings, which the Prague Congress Centre is secured by contract. 
 
An important part is energy management, whose task is to find areas with more savings potential. Provider of the project is ENESA a. s. from ČEZ ESCO.



„The reconstruction was exceptionally extensive and at first we were worried, but it all worked out well.“ Ing. Luděk Bednář, Technical and Operational Director of the Prague Congress Centre
„We are pleased that we can offer our visitors a programme in halls with a quality interior environment.“ Ing. Lenka Žlebková, Sales and Marketing Director of the Prague Congress Centre
„The Prague Congress Centre has been an extraordinary challenge for us. Regarding the amount of investment, and especially the technological complexity, it’s the largest project of its kind in our country.“ Ivo Slavotínek, Director of ENESA a. s.

*About EPC

• Energy services with guaranteed savings (EPC) are one of the ways to modernise heating, air conditioning and other energy management components in energy-efficient buildings.
• The advantage of the EPC is that the investment is repaid from future savings and the customer is contractually guaranteed this amount.
• Both the customer and the supplier have one goal: maximum energy savings.
• The manner of reporting is negotiated by contract. This ensures the demonstration and transparency of savings.
• EPC includes energy management, which has the task of monitoring and analysing energy consumption and finding other areas to save.

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