Lebenshilfe im Nürnberger Land e. V. operates over 20 properties where people with developmental delays or disabilities can find a home and receive care. The residents are usually assisted by permanent employees of Lebenshilfe. However, a new approach is being pursued in the young “inclusive living environments” in Altdorf. The property, which was first occupied in spring 2016, offers living space for people with disabilities and for people without disabilities. The latter can get involved in providing care, for example by cooking or organising leisure activities for the working people with disabilities, and receive a flat-rate volunteer allowance for this, which in turn reduces their rental costs. For the inclusive living concept, Lebenshilfe built built a building with 26 apartments for people with disabilities and five additional apartments for tenants without disabilities. The building has three floors, each with a gross area of approximately 2,500 m².

Around £5.5 million was invested in the construction of the “Inclusive Living Worlds”. Two-thirds of this was financed by subsidies, with the rest contributed by Lebenshilfe. Since the Altdorf residential complexes were financed from public and private funds and the rents were to be affordable for the residents, the property was designed by Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Hans Peter Haid (managing director of Haid+Partner GmbH Architekten+Ingenieure, Nuremberg) with the aim of achieving “high efficiency”. The architect, who specialises in healthcare and social buildings, spoke to prospective residents before the designs were drawn up and incorporated their wishes and ideas into the concept. The result is a building with a “green” roof and a “green” basement. The architect, who specialises in healthcare and social buildings, spoke to prospective residents before drawing up the designs and incorporated their wishes and ideas into the concept. The result is a building with a highly insulated outer shell and a good layout, which does without large glass fronts, thus ensuring low heating costs. The focus of the planning for the technical building equipment was on the tasks and residents of the facility. “In addition, well thought-out and easy-to-use equipment makes life easier for the residents,” explains specialist planner Roland Müller. The planning for the technical building equipment focused on the tasks and the residents of the facility. “Well-designed and easy-to-use equipment makes life easier for the residents,” explains specialist planner Roland Goetz from Altdorf, describing one of the project requirements.

For example, the barrier-free bathrooms can be equipped with additional grab rails and all washbasins in the building are wheelchair accessible. Even features that are not immediately visible, such as the anti-scald mixers installed throughout, reveal that no corners were cut, but rather that safety and durability were the primary considerations when making investments.

Separate piping results in a low return temperature in this system; in this case, the water ideally flows back to the storage tank at 35 °C. Due to the weather-independent heat loads in the building, such as the frequently running washing machine and tumble dryer, the CHP unit is well utilised throughout the year. It runs for around 6,500 hours per year. In summer, when only hot water is needed for showering, washing and rinsing, or heat for the laundry room, it runs for around eight hours. It runs for around 6,500 hours per year. In summer, when only hot water is needed for showering, washing and rinsing, or heat for the laundry room, it runs for around eight hours per day.

Heat management is handled by the central varmeco “VarCon 380 Pro” control system, which allows the operating data to be parameterised and displayed on the device or – via a secure, password-protected internet connection. For example, the control system requests boiler operation when the output of the CHP unit is not sufficient to cover the heat demand. The CHP unit is therefore always used with priority. The control system also manages the heating circuits and hot water preparation, including all pumps. Since the pump drives are speed-controllable, they allow for demand-oriented and energy-saving operation.

The harmonious interaction between heat supply and electricity production in the small CHP plant is due in no small part to its precisely tailored size. The summer base load and the heating demand in

the transitional seasons can be covered by the CHP unit alone; the condensing boiler is only required on relatively cold days.

Goetz concludes.

In view of the low remuneration for CHP electricity compared to the price of electricity, the simultaneity of generation and consumption of electrical energy means additional savings. This is possible not least thanks to the fact that heat supply and consumption are decoupled by the 3 m³ storage tank.