21 February 2022 – Hotel Alexandra Loen in Stryn, Norway, will utilize offshore technology to heat up both swimming pool and hotel rooms going forward.
The family-run hotel in Indre Nordfjord on the northwest coast of Norway has purchased two cooling systems which are normally applied in the engine rooms of seafaring vessels, to help regulate the pool and room temperatures at both Hotel Alexandra Loen and the neighbouring Hotel Loenfjord.
The supplier of the equipment is Ålesund-based company Hydroniq Coolers.
“’We run traditional hotels, but at the same time we are constantly innovating to make our business more effective and environmentally sustainable. Part of this work is to identify new technical solutions,” says Richard Grov, Hotel Alexandra Loen’s managing director.
Hydroniq Coolers will supply two of its “Pleat” seawater cooling systems to the hotel. This system is normally used to reduce the temperature of a ship’s main engine and other auxiliary systems to avoid overheating the engine and other critical systems.
At the hotel, however, the Pleat heat exchanger will be used to cool seawater collected from the nearby Nordfjorden to ensure that the water constantly maintains two degrees Celsius. The Pleat cooler is connected to a heat pump that converts the cold seawater into hot water, which in turn is used to heat the swimming pool and hotel rooms.
The reason for using a heat exchanger is that it allows you to extract heat energy from the ocean to the hotel’s heat pump. Heat pump technology is renowned for getting more energy out of every electric kilowatt input. As seawater is difficult medium, including marine growth and the like, the heat exchanger must be easy to maintain. The hotel therefore chose a Pleat cooler. A self-cleaning filter has been installed to ensure as stable operations as possible. The delivery also includes a self-priming seawater pump.
“We have previously moved our Pleat cooler from the ocean to the mountains and installed it at a hydropower plant. However, this is the first time we are utilizing it at a fjord hotel. It is another great example of how Norwegian businesses can take technologies that have originally been developed to the offshore and maritime industries and apply to other usage areas,” says Lars Elling Gloppholm, aftermarket sales manager at Hydroniq Coolers.
Riksheim Consulting in Ålesund is in charge of the purchase. Riksheim Consulting provides consulting services within HVAC, energy and environmental technology.
“Because of its long service intervals, our Pleat seawater cooler has for many years been the preferred solution onboard offshore vessels and rigs that operate at sea for long periods of time. The fact that the system is reliable, energy efficient and easy to maintain is also an advantage for the hotel’s operations,” says Lars Elling Gloppholm.
Hydroniq Coolers will manufacture and assemble the equipment at the company’s headquarter in Ålesund, Norway, and deliver it to Hotel Alexandra Loen.
The patented Pleat is a module-based titanium cooler for seawater to freshwater, with design pressure 6 bars and design temperature of 0-95°C.
ENDS
For further media information, please contact:
Endre Aaberg Johansen, Corporate Communications AS, tel: +47 41 61 06 05, email: endre.johansen@corpcom.no
Hydroniq Coolers AS is a supplier of cooling solutions and heat exchangers to the shipbuilding market and selected land-based applications. Its main products are Hydroniq Rack and Hydroniq Pleat which both offer highly competitive operational and maintenance friendly solutions for seawater cooling. The name “Hydroniq” refers to regulation of temperature through utilisation of liquids. For further information, please see www.hydroniq.no
