The effects of the global climate crisis are becoming increasingly noticeable. This year’s August was the warmest in recorded history. The Vienna city government has set itself a very ambitious goal of “climate neutrality by 2040”. This requires a comprehensive restructuring of Vienna’s energy system. The demand for renewable electricity will increase significantly.
It is therefore crucial to expand the use of photovoltaics in the city, as other energy sources such as water or wind are only available to a limited extent. The city government has set concrete goals for expanding electricity generation through photovoltaics and launched the Vienna Solar Power Initiative: By 2025, the output is to be increased to 250 MWp and by 2030 to 800 MWp. This will enable around a quarter of Vienna’s households (approx. 230,000) to be supplied with solar power.
The City of Vienna is taking a pioneering role in this regard
The City of Vienna is taking on a pioneering role in this regard. As part of a municipal implementation program, all city-owned areas were checked for their suitability for photovoltaics. By the end of 2025, photovoltaic systems are to be installed wherever it is technically feasible and economically viable. A total of 46 Viennese compulsory school locations have already been equipped with photovoltaic systems, and 10 more will be added this year alone.
City Councillor for Education Christoph Wiederkehr said: “The ambition to install photovoltaic systems wherever it is technically possible on Vienna’s educational buildings by 2025 underlines our serious approach to achieving climate neutrality by 2040.”
Climate City Councillor Jürgen Czernohorzky adds: “The Vienna solar power initiative has reached another milestone by equipping our educational buildings with photovoltaic systems. It shows that the city is also a pioneer in terms of sustainability in educational institutions. The energy generated on the roofs of our schools flows directly into our own power supply and makes an important contribution to achieving our climate goals. We are showing that education and ecological responsibility go hand in hand.”
Climate-fit buildings are the new standard for educational buildings
“Climate-friendly buildings are the new standard for educational buildings in Vienna. With the Vienna solar power initiative, schools are becoming renewable power plants. This makes the energy transition tangible in one’s own environment and can be clearly integrated into lessons. An important and positive contribution to education and climate protection,” says Stefan Gara, energy and climate spokesman for NEOS Vienna.
Smart solutions in educational construction
The energy concept for an educational building should enable a highly efficient, alternative and year-round optimized supply of renewable on-site resources.
Life cycle costs should be kept as low as possible. The energy system should be economical and ecological in the long term.
In order to operate the educational location as energy efficiently as possible, the following measures are taken into account:
1. Efficient lighting systems and optimized use of daylight reduce electrical energy consumption.
2. Measures to recover and use waste heat reduce the amount of energy required from renewable sources.
3. A high degree of heat recovery is aimed for in ventilation. It is important to take into account user behavior depending on the season and to consider the possibility of hybrid ventilation in order to create an energy-efficient ventilation concept.
All educational buildings will be fitted with photovoltaic systems
All educational buildings will be equipped with photovoltaic systems to generate solar power in accordance with the requirements of the Vienna Building Code. The use of the photovoltaic system on the building will be maximized in order to cover the building’s energy needs. In addition, the photovoltaic system will be integrated into the energy monitoring of the educational building.
To ensure that the building’s users enjoy a pleasant environment all year round, the planning takes care to prevent summer overheating, which often occurs due to high occupancy, through appropriate environmentally friendly measures.
The following measures are being implemented:
– The use of thermal storage masses: The intermediate ceilings of the building itself are used in the form of thermal component activation. With moderate temperatures, they ensure a pleasant, evenly tempered room climate and represent an option for highly efficient building conditioning. In the warm season, these delivery systems offer the possibility of effectively dissipating thermal overloads and cooling the educational location.
– By avoiding continuous, long building edges, channeling effects can be avoided – in this way, the microclimatic situation on site can be used in the best possible way.
– Through evapotranspiration, plants can keep their surface temperature constant – this means that planted surfaces heat up significantly less than other materials. At the same time, evaporation has a cooling effect on their surroundings, thus ensuring a more pleasant microclimate. This is why plants are used both outdoors and directly in buildings. Green roofs and the possibility of shading with plants are also used to adapt to climate change. When selecting plants, care is taken to ensure that they are species that can withstand rising temperatures and longer dry periods in summer.
– Open spaces should and will be planted with greenery as far as possible so that the effect of evaporative cooling is used as effectively as possible and at the same time water retention in the planting areas is ensured. For sealed surfaces, surfaces that are as permeable as possible are used, with the proportion of sealed surfaces in the open space being kept as low as possible.
– Light colors are preferred for facades because they increase reflectivity and keep the surface temperature lower. Very highly reflective materials such as glass or metal are avoided in densely built-up areas because areas in front of or opposite them can be affected by additional radiation. The heat storage capacity of the building surfaces is kept as low as possible to facilitate heat radiation. Water-absorbent materials can reduce heat, insulating materials reduce heat absorption due to their low thermal conductivity. These properties are combined in the material wood, for example.
– In principle, the aim is to allow rainwater to seep away at the building site in order to relieve the burden on the sewer system. Open spaces with permeable water are preferred over drainage shafts in order to take advantage of evaporative cooling.
– Green roofs and facades are and should be used as a positive contribution to cooling open spaces and buildings and combined with measures for passive building cooling (external shading). – Green roofs are designed to be as “intensive” as possible and thus have good insulation functions and are multifunctional in order to meet the increasing, diverse demands on roof surfaces. There are often combined solutions for recreational areas with greenery as well as play and exercise facilities, and the generation of solar energy. Open spaces with buildings underneath are also greened as intensively as possible.
To raise awareness, the innovative energy concept is integrated into the architecture and made visible (e.g. through display boards) and thus woven into the everyday life of the users.
Goal: Be climate neutral by 2040
Deputy Mayor and City Councillor for Education Christoph Wiederkehr said: “Vienna has the ambitious goal of being climate-neutral by 2040. Vienna’s educational buildings also make a significant contribution to achieving this goal. While newly constructed school locations and campus buildings are largely energy self-sufficient, i.e. do not require external energy, environmentally friendly construction measures, such as the installation of a PV system as can be seen here at the site, are also possible on many existing school buildings. Every single measure that we take in this context is a piece of the puzzle for the city’s goal of being climate-neutral by 2040!”
City Councillor for the Environment and Climate Jürgen Czernohorszky adds: “The future of our city is also written on the roofs of our educational institutions. With the Vienna Solar Power Initiative, we are using these unused areas to generate clean energy and at the same time raise awareness of renewable energies among our children and young people. Photovoltaics is the engine of our energy transition and every new PV system in our schools is a step towards our goal of a climate-neutral Vienna by 2040.”
Links: Home – Vienna Solar Power Offensive
For further information: City of Vienna Pedram Seidi Email: pedram.seidi@wien.gv.at
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