Renewable energies heat and cool the new campuses
Characterised by compact shapes and energy-efficient building elements, the USI-SUPSI University Campus in Lugano Viganello (Campus East) and the Mendrisio-Stazione Campus are Minergie-certified and heated using renewable energy.
The USI-SUPSI East Campus in Lugano Viganello and the SUPSI Campus in Mendrisio-Stazione have been awarded the "minergie" certification, the Swiss standard for comfort, efficiency and climate protection in new buildings. Energy-efficient construction elements and high-quality building envelopes played a special role, as did the installation of controlled air exchange. The two campuses are also characterised by the use of renewable energy and the use of solar energy.
The assessment of the insulation of the building envelope - a technique for isolating one system with different thermal-acoustic conditions from another - was central to the awarding of the certification. Compliance with energy parameters, verification of constant air exchange, and the thermal comfort of indoor environments in the summer season were also taken into consideration. All these elements were carefully taken care of in the design and construction of the two buildings.
The assessment of the insulation of the building envelope - a technique for isolating one system with different thermal-acoustic conditions from another - was central to the awarding of the certification. Compliance with energy parameters, verification of constant air exchange, and the thermal comfort of indoor environments in the summer season were also taken into consideration. All these elements were carefully taken care of in the design and construction of the two buildings.
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The SUPSI Campus in Mendrisio exploits the thermal energy contained in the outside air and produces hot water by recovering the heat generated by the servers and the cooling of the laboratories. The ventilation system ensures a constant exchange of indoor air, recovering energy from the stale air and guaranteeing the abatement and respectively the filtration of odours, bacteria, fine dust and viruses.
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The USI-SUPSI East Campus is connected to the cooling pipes of the supercomputers of the Swiss Centre for Scientific Computing (CSCS) in Lugano-Cornaredo: a three-kilometre-long pipeline takes water from Lake Lugano at a depth of 45 metres (temperature about 6°C) and transports it to the CSCS, returning it to the lake at a temperature of 15-20°C. In the winter, the return water from the pipeline feeds a heat pump for heating the East Campus; in the summer, the delivery water feeds heat exchangers for passive cooling of the building. The East Campus also houses a gas-fuelled district heating plant of the AIL. It produces electricity and the heat necessary to cover any heat demand peaks on the Campus; most of the heat produced is distributed to other consumers in the vicinity of the Campus via a district heating network.
Photovoltaic panels
In 2023, photovoltaic panels were installed on the roof of the East Campus, an initiative supervised by the SUPSI PVLab of the Department of Environment, Construction and Design that came about as part of a research project (RACONT 2050) funded by the Federal Office of Energy. The panels are monitored and tested with innovative systems by the SUPSI PVLab, which will allow a comparison with the real potential of the latest innovations introduced by the photovoltaic industry on the international market in the future.