DBU Backs €300,000 Ice-Storage Retrofit of 17th-Century German Manor
Gröningen – September 07, 2026 -- The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is funding a roughly €300,000 renovation of the 17th-century Rittergut Edelhof manor in Gröningen, Saxony-Anhalt, installing one of Germany's first water-ice thermal storage systems in a historic building. The project, underway since late last year, is scheduled for completion by April 2028 and aims to return residential use to a building vacant since the 1990s.
Water-ice storage cuts heating energy demand by up to 50 percent
A heat pump extracts energy from water until it freezes, supplying heat during sub-zero temperatures without large battery storage. Scientific project lead Prof. Dr. Harald Garrecht said this system works alongside a roof-integrated heat-recovery unit that draws warmth from the environment above freezing, together cutting required heating energy by up to 50 percent.