Environmentally-friendly heating for the Karlsborg´s fortress

This year´s environmental award, 2006, was presented to Peter Almgren, technical property manager at the Karlsborg fortress. He is receiving the award from the National Property Board Sweden (SFV) for his commitment and methodical work with achieving more environmentally-friendly heating for the fortress area. Peter Almgren is an educated water, heating and sanitation engineer and has been working as a property manager and operational manager at SFV since 2001. Now he is responsible for technical operations in the areas Karlsborg, Karlstad, Jönköping and Mariestad.

SFV´s internal environmental award has been presented since 2000. The intention behind the award is to recognise and encourage initiatives and actions that reduce our environmental impact. We want to foster "worthy efforts" and the award is given to one or several winners annually. The Cultural Heritage unit at SFV appoints a jury, which in turn, selects the winner.

The environmental award winner, in addition to the honour, receives a rotating award and a study trip. "I am extremely happy and proud of this distinction" - says Peter Almgren at SFV´s management district, Southwest. "I know that I had a lot of tough competition, which makes it extra fun; both the fact that there are many of us working within SFV to reduce our environmental impact and that I had luck on my side this year".

Enthusiasm and ability to cooperate

Peter Almgren is receiving the environmental award for his goal-oriented work with freeing Karlsborg fortress from oil dependence and making the facility more energy efficient. He has created an excellent cooperation with the operations manager, the Swedish Fortifications Agency, which is in charge of the daily operation.

At the Karlsborg fortress area, there are approximately 150 properties that house both military operations and provide civilian housing. There are around 80 apartments. The on-site district heat facility produces bio-energy that provides all buildings with heat.

The district heating facility got an additional eco-friendly wood chip boiler in 2005 as a complement to the existing, larger wood chip boiler. The old oil-fired boilers are still there but are used only for emergency heating if the wood chip boilers should be out of order.

The annual oil consumption has gone from 550 cubic metres of fuel oil to around eight cubic metres. The two wood chip boliers produce approximately 22,000 MWh of heat per year. The bio-energy is sufficient to heat all of SFV´s buildings -and more on top of that. This means that SFV can also sell bio-energy to the municipality of Karlsborg, the Swedish Fortifications Agency and an industry in the area. Naturally, this provides good finances for the management and a good environment for Karlsborg.

"Our environmental impact is significantly less today than it was several years ago. In the 1970s and 1980s we burned as much as 2,000 cubic metres of oil here! Today´s consumption is down to around eight cubic metres, and I hope we can get it down even more" -says Peter hopefully. "We are looking at other alternatives where we can stop using oil completely."

Not a player piano

To keep a district heating facility in good condition you have to work with it all the time. It has to be adjusted, tuned up and calibrated to get the best possible power. This applies to both the district heating centre and out in the buildings. "We have worked with energy-optimising the buildings with installations of heat exchangers and adjustment of the heating systems" -says Peter Almgren.

The oldest of the two wood chip boilers has been in operation since 1987 and has now reached its autumn years. "Right now we are seeing if we can replace it with a newer wood chip boiler" -says Peter. "Developments and technology have moved forward in the last 20 years and I hope that we can achieve even better combustion and flue gas purification with a new boiler. The goal is to replace the oldest and largest wood chip boiler by 2010 or 2011. We have even thought about renaming the facility the Bio-heat centre" -says Peter enthusiastically.

Europe´s largest fortress

Construction on the Karlsborg fortress was started at Vanäs udde in 1819 and was completed in 1909. The fortress on the shores of Lake Vättern was the largest in all of Europe at that time. It was strategically built in the middle of the country in order to be defended from all sides. Behind the moats there was a small town with a hospital and church. The idea was that the government, royal family and the country´s wealth (gold reserves and crown jewels) could be moved here if there was a war in Sweden.

The state coffers were stored here in the vault during the Second World War. The fortress was demobilised in 1928, and since then has been used by the military as an educational and storage site.

Today´s Karlsborg

The Swedish Armed Forces is the tenant at Karlsborg fortress and the Swedish Fortifications Agency handles daily operation. In addition to the military presence, which includes the units K3, FJS and SSG, there are also apartments at Karlsborg. There are around 80 apartments there, for both military personnel and civilians. In total the fortress area has approximately 150 properties with just as many thousand square metres. It is about the same size as all the government blocks in Stockholm.

Tradtion is change

Sweden has many buildings and environments of great value to its national cultural history. Each one is part of the nation´s history and its future. The National Property Board Sweden aims to make all Swedes proud of these national treasures, palaces and royal parks, theatres, museums, embassies and property comprising one seventh of the total land mass of Sweden. All are owned by the Swedes collectively, and the duty of the Board is to administer them in the best possible way.

Källa: SFV, 2009-07-10