Over 600 air conditioning units help transform abandoned quarry into luxury village

Clivet air conditioning systems for the abandoned stone quarry transformed into a luxury village with energy Class A thanks to a €245m redevelopment project.

 

Born from a €245 project lasted about 20 years for the environmental requalification of an abandoned stone quarry in Sistiana, PortoPiccolo has been nicknamed the “Little Monte Carlo” of the Italian Northeast. It is a self-sufficient city, which will draw 900,000 people per year: 460 prestigious residential units, public and private beaches, parks, bars and restaurants, excellent retail units, 5-star hotel, marina with 124 berths and a large spa area.

 

The entire village boasts Class A energy efficiency, whose achievement has been made possible by using the sea as the thermal energy source for the heat pumps, with more than 600 Clivet air conditioning units.

 

The plant engineering solution of PortoPiccolo is based on a water loop system that uses the sea water as an energy source.The plant has also the preparation for the exploitation of ground water, which emerges from the limestone which forms the floor of the quarry and then continues to the seabed. This renewable resource is stable all over the year and supplies water to the loop serving all the bay with 18 heating and cooling plants, which use the high efficiency packaged reversible Clivet heat pumps.

 

These produce chilled, hot water and domestic hot water for the different buildings: hotel, spa, residential units, commercial areas etc. They provide energy only where and when needed according to the decentralization principle and modulate their function in relation to the comfort requirements and external conditions, using also the free cooling functionality in spring and autumn.

 

The distribution of hot and cold fluid in the different buildings is through radiant panels, Clivet fan-coils and heated towel rails. The system uses different renewable energy sources such as sea and sun, with real energy saving and very low operating costs. All of the heat pumps are fueled exclusively by electricity, as well as the induction cookers, completely eliminating the use of gas or oil. In the village there are also 200 square meters of solar panels, positioned on the roofs of the modern buildings, contributing to the hot domestic water high efficiency heating.