{"id":13547,"date":"2026-06-01T11:04:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T09:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/fvb-news\/five-times-higher-efficiency-with-district-cooling-in-varberg\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T15:04:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:04:57","slug":"five-times-higher-efficiency-with-district-cooling-in-varberg","status":"publish","type":"fvb-nytt","link":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/fvb-news\/five-times-higher-efficiency-with-district-cooling-in-varberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Five\u2011times higher efficiency with district cooling in Varberg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Varbergs Fastighets AB, illustration: Magasin 7, design: EGA Erik Giudice Architecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Varberg Energi is building a new district cooling system utilising the sea as a natural cooling resource, plus surplus heat from a nearby factory. The result is cooling production up to five times more efficient than the systems owned and used by customers. FVB is main project leader and responsible for process design. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Varberg Energi is investing in district cooling, a totally new product for the company. Production will be a mix of geocooling, absorption cooling and compressor cooling, giving peak production of 15 mW in total. An accumulator will also be built. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThis was the best combination in terms of economy and the environment. Total COP for our production plant is 15 mW, compared to customer plants achieving only 3\u20134 mW. That means we save huge amounts of electricity currently used by inefficient cooling machinery,\u201d says Michael Sl\u00e4ttberg, Development Engineer at Varberg Energi. <\/p>\n\n

Multiple production options enable highly competitive cooling prices.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cFor example: in the event of negative electricity prices, we can make use of the compression cooling plant to a greater extent. It will be a system we can optimise in various ways and with a high level of redundancy, as we have a range of production options,\u201d explains Sl\u00e4ttberg. <\/p>\n\n

During the warmer months, Varberg Energi will mainly use surplus heat from S\u00f6dra Cell V\u00e4r\u00f6 to produce absorption cooling, but the sea will provide the main source of cooling all year round. Varberg harbour is so deep that Varberg Energi can avoid having to lay long pipelines to reach sufficient depth, although the permit application process has taken time. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt is always a sensitive issue to extract and discharge water from the sea, which is why the decision on a permit took so long,\u201d says Aksel Holmberg at FVB. He is a Process Engineer responsible for process design and function description of the production plant.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe entire harbour also has to be altered to make room for the new V\u00e4sterport residential development, which means a lot of coordination with all the other projects underway in the area, and how the detailed planning will look,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n

The objective is for the first customer, the city\u2019s hospital, to be connected in 2027. Initially via a temporary cooling machine until the big central cooling plant in the harbour is built, which is expected to be completed at the earliest by 2029. <\/p>\n\n

The hospital will also be the biggest customer, while others will include offices, the university campus, hotels, retirement homes, etc. They will be connected along a district cooling grid in the shape of a horseshoe, with a southern arm running to the hospital and a northern arm to the Holmag\u00e4rde industrial zone. <\/p>\n\n

Interest in connecting to district cooling is strong in Varberg, driven by clear economic and environmental benefits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cDistrict cooling is a highly flexible solution that means customers avoid the hassle of maintenance. Having your own cooling machinery places a heavy environmental burden on the owner. The machinery often contains hazardous coolants that require leak detection. Most businesses do not have these resources in-house and have to outsource. District cooling customers avoid all that,\u201d say Aksel Holmberg. Michael Sl\u00e4ttberg adds: <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe also find that our customers are attracted by the sheer convenience. Running cooling machinery is expensive and requires a lot of maintenance. District cooling eliminates ten tonnes of coolant from the centre of Varberg. Then there\u2019s the reduction in noise levels from fans attached to coolant chillers and outdoor cooling units.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

In other words, there are a lot of opportunities for district cooling in Varberg, but building the customer base and technical systems for district cooling in a small organisation is complicated. Varberg Energi therefore decided to bring in external know-how at an early stage. Consequently, FVB has been involved right from the start \u2013 from the feasibility study to Bernt Andersson from FVB now heading the project as Chief Project Manager. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cFVB has been key to our project. They have been able to provide everything from project management and design to procurement and commissioning,\u201d concludes Michael Sl\u00e4ttberg. <\/p>\n\n

Further information:<\/strong>Aksel Holmberg, +46 (0)21-81 80 45.Bernt Andersson, +46 (0)21-81 80 60.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Varberg Energi is building a new district cooling system utilising the sea as a natural cooling resource, plus surplus heat from a nearby factory. The result is cooling production up to five times more efficient than the systems owned and used by customers. FVB is main project leader and responsible for process design. Varberg Energi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13474,"menu_order":0,"template":"","expertise-cat":[],"services-cat":[],"fvb-categories":[179],"fvb-nytt-cat":[],"class_list":["post-13547","fvb-nytt","type-fvb-nytt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","fvb-categories-artiklar"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fvb-nytt\/13547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fvb-nytt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fvb-nytt"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"expertise-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expertise-cat?post=13547"},{"taxonomy":"services-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services-cat?post=13547"},{"taxonomy":"fvb-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fvb-categories?post=13547"},{"taxonomy":"fvb-nytt-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fvb.se.ny.haus.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fvb-nytt-cat?post=13547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}