Boundless energy for zero energy

Michaela Reitterer is enlarging her Boutique Hotel Stadthalle in Vienna with a net zero energy extension. Using photovoltaic cells and solar panels, wind generators and heat pumps, from 2009 onward she will operate the world's first zero energy hotel.

With its pleasant courtyard garden, the 44-room Boutique Hotel Stadthalle in Vienna’s 15th district already has a reputation for its environmental friendliness. For a long time now, hot water has been produced by a 130 m² solar collector, and rainwater has been collected for watering the garden and the green roofs. The hotel has already been awarded the EcoLogo of the Austrian Republic for these and similar measures, and was the first hotel in Vienna to receive the EU EcoLogo. Now the hotel is taking yet another step in the direction of environmental protection.

Total climate and environmental protection

The new extension – scheduled to be completed in November 2009 – will add a further 38 rooms to the hotel. The City of Vienna is subsidizing about a third of the investment costs of the project under its EcoBusiness scheme. Michaela Reitterer is investing a total of 4.5 million euros for this conversion and extension work. From the first floor up, the entire building envelope will be upgraded to passive energy standard with a heating requirement of 9 kWh/m². In future energy will be extracted from the groundwater by means of a heat pump. Electricity will be generated using a 77 m² photovoltaic system and two wind generators on the roof. In addition to watering the garden, rainwater will also be used for flushing the toilets. The energy conservation concept of the new extension means that exactly the same amount of energy will be generated as consumed. When does the owner of the hotel stand to gain financially from this enormous investment? “The investment will pay for itself in about eight or nine years’ time,” explains Gerhard Heiling, responsible for the energy planning.

A milestone in tourism

“This investment not only represents a milestone in tourism, but also demonstrates how active environmental protection can be turned to a competitive advantage,” Ulli Sima, Vienna Councillor for the Environment, is full of praise for the project. The Boutique Hotel Stadthalle is already a long-standing partner in the City of Vienna’s EcoBusiness Scheme. To date more than 600 enterprises have been able to reduce their costs by a total of 41.6 million euros thanks to this environmental service package.

Environmental awareness rewarded

Room prices at the Boutique Hotel Stadthalle will not be going up. On the contrary: in future customers arriving by bicycle or train will receive a ten percent discount on accommodation! People interested in zero energy building will also have the possibility of experiencing first hand what it is like to live in a zero-energy room climate. Following a three-month closure, the hotel will remain open during the conversion work, which is scheduled to be completed in November 2009. “We have to keep to this date, as we already have reservations for the hotel extension for November next year,” Reitterer is confident. Apart from this, in 2011 the entire hotel is booked out for a congress on zero energy building.