The ability of technology to make people’s lives easier often defies the capacity for wonder. This happens in the high mountain refuge of Monte Rosa, one of the most spectacular Italian-Swiss massifs in the Alps. Located at 2,883 meters of altitude, the facilities manage to solve an equation absolutely impossible to solve a few years ago: full energy self-sufficiency, maximum comfort, wastewater treatment, autonomous ventilation system, digitalization of technical systems, control of all functions remote and high engineering at the service of its very particular users.
With nearly 8,000 overnight stays a year, all guests are mountaineers, possibly one of the sporting profiles most sensitive to the harmful impact of man on nature. It is enough to admire the glaciers that surround the so-called HUT Monte Rosa to regret the gradual reduction in size of the snowfields due to global warming.
As it could not be otherwise, any traditional high mountain refuge is limited to satisfying the most basic needs of its visitors. A roof, a bed, maybe something to eat and the austere natural warmth of four thick walls. A minimally conditioned space is enough to organize the equipment, feel comfortable for a few hours and regain strength to jump the neighboring peaks. This is how it has been all our lives, as if the 21st century had never reached certain altitudes. But that is not the case of the Monte Rosa facilities, possibly the smartest high mountain refuge in the world.
Large technological multinationals, Siemens among them, contribute the best of their catalogs to convert the 1,600 square meters of the cabin into the most efficient in the relationship between geographical adversity and quality of their hospitality services. The merit is outstanding when access for people or materials can only be done on foot, with a pack animal or by helicopter. These difficulties are part of the daily life of Hut Monte Rosa, but without preventing the development of all types of technological and environmental solutions.
For now, those responsible for the energy supply of the facilities replaced the 8.6 tons of lead batteries with 2.7 tons of lithium batteries. The recipe cooked by Siemens to work such a miracle is called Building sustainability,” according to the German company.
According to its technicians, “the Desigo CC building management system is the on-the-ground solution to manage all systems, such as air conditioning, shading, lighting, energy, fire safety and comprehensive protection. Sensorization and data monitoring allows the Operator monitor key indicators in real time to offer the best user experience and anticipate any potential problems to act accordingly.
The visit to the Monte Rosa Hut required half a dozen walking routes, always enlivened by the spectacular nature of an environment presided over by the imposing Matterhorn, along with its sister peaks. The alpine atmosphere is breathed in every corner of a refuge that will serve as a model for its counterparts on any continent. Well dined and rested, the athletes face their adventure long before dawn. Many of them show tense and concentrated faces, but aware that their bodies and minds are in the best conditions to attack the peaks until recently impossible for people to tread. This prior rest is what the HUT Monte Rosa guarantees.
Among other definitions, the site collects the practical virtues of the so-called Internet of Things and the set of devices capable of connecting objects and equipment, with the consequent capacity for remote supervision and action. And that super technological power is what Siemens uses to calibrate the ambient temperature, weigh energy reserves and convert a remote enclave – isolated from the civilization of the valley – into the closest thing to a two or three star hotel, with 120 beds.
But among all the innovations applied, the energy management of the facilities stands out, at the time caused by the end of the useful life of the aforementioned lead batteries used since the opening of the cabin. “This led the operators to implement a new solution. Siemens was awarded the contract to design the entire solution and replace 48 lead batteries with 14 lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries with a capacity of 215 kWh.”
Siemens explains that, thanks to the regional airline Air Zermatt, some 8.6 tons of lead batteries and almost 2.7 tons of lithium batteries were transported by helicopter to the Monte Rosa refuge. The successful installation of the batteries barely needed two days to provide energy to such a sophisticated complex. Siemens celebrates that “the new battery solution has taken the shelter’s energy self-sufficiency to even greater heights by lightening the load on the generator that is used in bad weather. In addition, the new batteries offer more usable capacity. The completed project considerably increases the safe, efficient and sustainable energy supply of the Monte Rosa refuge at any time of the day and in any weather condition.
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