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High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

Monte Rosa Hut

2011-Dec-28

The new Monte Rosa Hut of the Swiss Alpine Club is already considered to be the alpine hut of the future. The hut also represents a research project of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. It develops and tests new concepts for increasing energy efficiency in extended use under difficult conditions, using new technologies to optimally design such buildings so that they can be operated on a sustainable basis. This also includes the building automation from Siemens Building Technologies. Its employee, engineer and amateur mountain climber Ivan Loetscher monitors the plants on site and keeps the operating stations in working order. The entire hut is to produce only a third of the toxic substances in comparison to the smaller hut that preceded it. The interim result after two years of intensive operation: The hut and its technology have already proven themselves to be sustainable.

Reference Number: PN 2011.08

Dec 28, 2011 | High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

At an altitude of 2,883 meters above sea level, the new Monte Rosa Hut looks like a rock crystal embedded in the glacial moraine (the Matterhorn is in the background on the left). This altitude is generally characterized by extreme conditions. Storms and sudden drops in temperature from plus 20 degrees to minus 30 degrees Celsius are almost normal.

Reference number: PN201108-01

Dec 28, 2011 | High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

The hut is considered to be exemplary in terms of its energy and resource efficiency. Everything is geared toward sustainability, from the building materials in use to its generation of power using photovoltaic installations on its external surfaces to its storage and repeated reuse of water. If necessary, a CHP plant using canola oil starts up. This allows the hut to be largely self-sufficient.

Reference number: PN201108-02

Dec 28, 2011 | High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

The alpine hut has proven itself to be a comfortable lodge as well as an important testing ground for energy-efficient building technology and building automation. Ivan Loetscher checks the data on the computer in the machine room of the hut, where the technical infrastructure converges. The brains of the plant use Siemens technology to ensure that everything is working together perfectly around the clock.

Reference number: PN201108-03

Dec 28, 2011 | High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

For example, the software for building automation controls the heating and ventilation in the building, collects measurement data from the photovoltaic installation and the rechargeable batteries, and records data from heat sensors and energy meters. Of particular interest are the inner workings of the new hut, which already produce up to approximately 90 percent of the required energy thanks to energy-saving features, sophisticated solar power systems, and a supplementary CHP plant.

Reference number: PN201108-04

Dec 28, 2011 | High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

The alpine hut is operated largely on a self-sufficient and automated basis, even when the hut is not occupied or hardly occupied outside of the season. Individual functions can be easily checked at the operating stations. Roughly 150 data points of the Monte Rosa Hut are measured and controlled. The data is transmitted to Zurich via satellite on a continuous basis, where it is evaluated for research purposes.

Reference number: PN201108-05

Dec 28, 2011 | High-Tech Hut Magic on Monte Rosa

A self-sufficient power and water supply, an innovative new facade according to the principle of a thermos bottle, and the outstanding life cycle assessment from construction to disposal make the new Monte Rosa Hut into a peerless ecological pioneer. A development step to come is the inclusion of occupancy numbers and weather forecasts in the system. The operating costs of the alpine hut could be reduced even more with anticipatory control concepts.

Reference number: PN201108-06

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