Idex develops France’s first lake water-based thermal energy network
Idex continues to promote the use of renewables in France with the installation of the country’s first-ever thermal energy network in Annecy, where lake water will be used to heat and cool an eco-district.
The Haute-Savoie department in southeastern France is where Idex is developing a new innovative project – an eco‑friendly heating and cooling network that will serve the Trésums eco‑district in Annecy.
What makes this project innovative is that water from Lake Annecy will be used to heat and cool the future Trésums eco-district. The network will serve more than 20 buildings near the lake, including a hotel and the city’s future public swimming pool.
From blue gold to green energy
Idex prioritises harnessing local natural resources to meet its clients’ heating and cooling needs, from groundwater to sunlight to forests...and now lakes! Water will be drawn from a natural reservoir at a depth of 20 metres, where the temperature is 7°C all year round, and routed into the pipes of the Trésums network.
The consistent temperature of the water passed through heat exchangers will enable efficient cooling of buildings in the eco-district in the summer. The network will also be equipped with heat pumps, supplied with water from the same source, to meet the heating needs of the 55,000 m2 Trésums eco-district.
A first in France
Idex is consolidating its position as a trailblazer in the renewable energy sector. A similar system can be found a few kilometres north of Annecy, along the France–Switzerland border: the GeniLac network in Geneva, which harnesses water from Lake Geneva to heat and cool several districts in the Swiss city.
Not using traditional production equipment significantly lowers the future Trésums eco-district’s carbon footprint. The water loop system will use 15 times less electricity than a traditional air‑conditioning system and will ultimately help avoid the emission of 2,250 tonnes of CO2 per year.
This eco-friendly solution capitalises on the local area’s geographic features.