Mill with tradition relies on a clever and sustainable energy mix

The Gusen has always been the lifeline for the Klammühle, located here in the border area between Engerwitzdorf and Katsdorf. Their water powered the textile factory set up here via wheels and belts. Later, a small hydroelectric power station supplied electricity for the art mill and a brush factory. Wilfried Pühringer has been using the Klammühle as a commercial and office location for ten years. He invested in upgrading the turbine, which now has an output of 90 kW, as well as in photovoltaics on the building roof. In addition, the oil heating was replaced by air heat pumps.

Electricity from water and sun

“In the winter, the Gusen carries a lot of water. The turbine runs at full load. When the water is low in the summer, the PV electricity plays a key role,” says Pühringer. Because of its exposed location and the high proportion of overhead lines in the regional power grid, Klammühle is often affected by power outages after storms or storms. “The more intensively I looked into sustainable energy production and use, the more clear it became to me that we also need an energy management system with electricity storage to optimally use our energy sources,” says Wilfried Pühringer. Although most providers had attractive standard solutions for PV and electricity storage, hardly anyone was familiar with the combination of hydropower, solar and storage solutions. Pühringer: “I had actually given up trying to find a solution.”

Test run for resiliency

Help came from very close by: in the person of Michael Schneiderbauer, who runs the company “Energy+ Solutions” on Linzerberg in Engerwitzdorf. Together, a 24.5 kWh storage system was installed, which not only ensures that the building can be used for emergency power, but also optimizes self-consumption. Schneiderbauer: “We have managed to ensure that sun, hydropower and storage intertwine seamlessly and support each other.” This week the reliability was tested in a test run. The result: Not a single server in the house or any other power-operated device responded to the switch to stored electricity. Conclusion: The Klammühle is well prepared for the next storms.