SustainHuts completes the installations in Llauset, Montfalcó and Valentina Stanica huts

Returning to the “new normality”, SustainHuts project reactivates the pending installations in the huts belonging to the project. During July, the actions have been completed in Cap de Llauset, installing an innovative thermal insulation, Montfalcó, installing new photovoltaic arrays, and Valentina Stanica, with the implementation of a hybrid PV‑wind‑batteries system. Furthermore, the installation of the hydrogen storage system in Bachimaña hut will be accomplished in September after the preparatory civil works currently in progress.

After the forced stop due to the extraordinary circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic; Sustainhuts project returns to the “normality” reactivating the installation of the pending technologies in the huts and trying to face the last year of the project with all the huts in monitoring period. Thus, during July, diverse actions have been developed in different Aragonese huts and the Slovenian one Valentina Staniça.

Cap de Llauset hut, where 8 kWp of PV arrays and pellets stoves were already installed, has been completed with the installation of an innovative and sustainable thermal insulation located at the batteries room, expecting an improvement in the batteries efficiency due to the extra protection against low temperatures and humidity of the Pyrenees winter. The insulation solution selected is an effective and natural material completely based on sheep wool.

Apart from it, new PV panels have been installed in Montfalcó hut, completing the actions expected in this hut, where a previous action were executed in order to improve the efficiency of the water pumping and to reduce the energy consumption of the hut. Considering the new installation, 24 PV panels of 285 Wp each one (a total power of 6.84 kWp) have been installed, expecting to reduce an important amount of diesel fuel in the hut, especially during the winter months when few people are hosted.

Finally, the planned installations of Valentina Stanica hut have been completed, starting the monitoring period. After the excellent results obtained in Pogacnikov hut, where no diesel fuel has been consumed after the installation of the technologies proposed by SustainHuts project, the system installed in Valentina is quite similar to this, combining a PV installation with a wind turbine and batteries storage and diversifying the energy production sources in order to achieve a higher reduction in the fossil fuel consumed.

After the execution of all this actions, SustainHuts project faces its last year with 25 of the 28 proposed technologies installed. About the rest, all of them in an advanced point of progress, the hydrogen storage system is especially interesting due to its highly innovative nature. Technicians from the Aragon Hydrogen Foundation (FHa) together with Aragonese Mountain Federation (FAM) workers visited Bachimaña hut on July 20^th in order to progress in preparatory activities before the final installation, expected to be done during August and July.