Energy in Austria Comenius Project 2009

Energy balance Austria

Electricity - import & export Austria mainly exports surge current (high end electricity) to other countries and earns a lot of money with it. In return Austria gets cheap electricity from other countries. All in all Austria uses more electricity than it produces.

Energy production in Austria We in Austria win our energy mainly from: solar energy hydro energy wind energy biomass and geothermal energy

Solar energy The rising costs of oil and natural gas become a bigger and bigger financial problem. Austria must fulfill legally and by contract given climate protection purposes. For both reasons it is very important to promote renewable energy. In the very sunny Tyrol the use of solar energy is especially obvious to produce hot water or partial-solar heating. solar collectors 2,3% photovoltaics 0.7%

Principle of solar collectors With collectors simply said, the water is pumped through copper pipes and then heated up by the sun. Origin: strom-online.ch

Hydro power In Austria 64% of stream is produced of hydro power. In alpine regions with the big rivers this production is very efficient. storage power plant river power plant

Hydro power potential in Austria

Storage power plant The storage power plant uses the principle of gravitation. Water is escorted from a higher situated lake (reservoir) down to the power plant, and thereby it achieves a huge speed. Then the water hits the turbines, and with the help of an E-generator stream is generated.

River power plant The river power plant is built in a river and is only run by the stream of the river. The principle is the same as the one of a storage power plant.

VIDEO

Biomass wood plants oil biogas

Wood Wood is one of the oldest energy sources. It is usually used for heating. Nowadays it is very easy and highly engineered to heat with wood.

Plants oil Plants oil is won from oil plants, as for example rape oil. In Austria rape grows primarily in South Styria, Upper Austria and Lower Austria.

The fuel possibilities for vegetable oil are still rare. But in an emergency you can also buy oil in the supermarket.

Biogas Fermentation gas is produced of biological rubbish (dung, decayed stuff, …). In Austria bio-energy mostly is produced and use privately. Origin:

Production of electricity Functionality of a biogas system origin: Thomas Seilnacht

Geothermal energy You can gain geothermal energy with a sensor which is situated 20 to 50 metres in the ground and which transports the energy up into your house. (This system is used to warm up water). Origin:

Description of geothermal energy system

Saving energy

Most costs arise with electricity & heating Tips to save energy

Heating: Living rooms and studios should have a temperature of about 20 degrees. In bedrooms 16 to 18 degrees are enough. In rooms which are not always used, temperature could be reduced down to 15 or 16 degrees over night. In this way you save a lot of energy!

If you should go on holiday the temperature at home should also be reduced. If you want to let in fresh air you should open the window wide for about five to ten minutes. If you have got heating pipes crossing unheated rooms they should have a very good isolation - so you do not loose energy.

If your boiler is older than 10 years, you should think about getting a new one. With a new one you can save up to 30 percent of the costs. Take care that pieces of furniture or thick curtains never cover the heaters!

Energy efficiency rating

Electricity: If a person sits at a desk all the other lights except the table lamp should be switched off! You should only use elevators for long distances; for short distances – take a walk – that‘s healthy

With energy savings lamps you save energy and you can use them five times longer than normal lamps Attention! Electronical devices also consume energy in the standby modus If you go on holiday for a longer time switch off all electronical devices

To heat up small dishes use the micro wave For cooking hard-boiled eggs you should rather use an egg cooker. You save 75% of stream [!!]

The power consumption of an average household consists of the following proportionate consumption: (Base: 2 persons in a flat)

Electricity use in austrian households