Buen Amor Castle – Hybridation of air-source and ground-source collection

The castle of Villanueva del Cañedo  (also known as the castle of Buen Amor) is located in the municipality of Topas, in the placeknown as Villanueva de Cañedo, a locality that no longer exists, in the province of Salamanca (Spain). It is a castle in Renaissancestyle and apparently contains remains from the 11th century, butthe actual construction dates from the 15th century. Historical figures such as Ferdinand of Aragon and Philip II areassociated with the castle.

The castle was declared a National Monument in 1931. Between 1958 and 1960 it was restored by its current owners, the Fernández de Trocóniz family, who have converted the castle,since 18 July 2003, into a hotel with 41 luxury rooms.

Historical building

Quantum Energy Services is committed to innovate and implement efficient hybrid energy systems, thus achieving more sustainable buildings and committed to the environment. The hotel had oil boilers (650 kW) and chillers, both systems at theend of their useful life. The heat energy demand was 599,329kWh. In addition to this system, the hotel also had a solar photovoltaic system installed by the same company.

The proposal was to install a heat pump system (4 ecoGEO HP3 25-100 kW units in cascade) with hybrid, geothermal and aerothermal collection. With a seasonal efficiency of 5, consumption will be 119,865 kW. It is estimated that the savings will be around 40,000€ per year, and after the first months of operation it seems that the savings will be on the way to further savings.