Tirol housing provider gives surplus solar power to tenants

Tirol housing provider Neue Heimat Tirol is giving tenants free solar power that is not needed to operate its buildings, ORF reported Thursday.

The model has been implemented at a development in Innsbruck-Pradl’s former Südtiroler-Siedlungen, where 135 subsidised rental apartments and a childcare centre are being built.

Photovoltaic panels on the roofs have a combined capacity of 235 kilowatt-peak. The electricity they generate is used first for the buildings’ heat pumps, ventilation systems, lifts and lighting. Any surplus is supplied directly to the tenants.

Residents can use the locally generated electricity without making their own investment or changing electricity provider. Neue Heimat Tirol estimates that households can save between 200 and 400 euros a year on electricity costs.

Thomas Vogel of the Energy Agency of Tyrol said the model does not require changes to existing electrical installations or additional cables.

Neue Heimat Tirol plans to make the tenant electricity model a future standard for its properties. Engelbert Spiess, head of construction and renovation at the housing provider, highlighted the practical use of new technologies. Rupert Ebenbichler of the Energy Agency of Tyrol said the energy transition should benefit tenants as well as property owners.