The Reims store will only have a wood boiler

With geothermal energy, its new store opens near Rouen this week will be 80 independent for its heating, cooling and ventilation needs. The system picks since a few days to 40 metres deep groundwater beneath the store calories. "Our consumption will increase from 175 to 100 kWh/m2 year." "After a year of adjustment, we should reach 80 kWh/m2", said Pierre Deyries, Director of sustainable development (and communication). By coherence, the isolation of the store adopted the current standard RT2005 hardened by 30. The company will check in a few weeks the performance of the building by thermography. This investment more expensive EUR 2.5 million global invoice of 55 million, but the extra cost should be amortized within ten years.

Strategy anti-wasted

In parallel, since 2006, Ikea France decreased energy consumption by 15. Technical centralized management stores, pilot lighting, heating, etc., has been improved. CO2 sensors measure the density of attendance of each building areas for example and adjust the ventilation. The power of the bulbs of the stores was also lessened. Thermal solar panels provide hot water for a few years. Pierre Deyries, the beginning of this anti-wasted strategy was the implementation of a software that calculates month by month consumption of each store and communicates through the group. "It is the gateway to identify problems but also to play the emulation between stores." It is a very valuable tool to convince managers, he said. The installation of a wood boiler adds more than 2 million euros to the operating account, it supported arguments. Employees, is important, for example to accept ten months of work and less heating during the renovations.

The French are thus trying to fill their delay. The group is committed in 2005 at the global level to go 100 renewable energy, without advance calendar. The process began in the countries of the North (the Sweden consumes 35 of renewable energy) and Switzerland with the adoption of wood boilers. The geothermal solution was chosen for three stores in the Netherlands, Italy and Great Britain. IKEA also tests the electricity photovoltaic two years stores Spanish, Belgian, Swiss and British. IKEA France now wants to engage its 26 stores and its 3 deposits. According to their age, they consume 130 to 200 kWh/m2 of gas or electricity. Future settlements will be heated by a geothermal energy (wood) energy mix tailored to each environment. Each solution will provide between 50 and 70 per cent of the needs of heating and ventilation, the rest will come from electricity. "We have long hesitated to choose the wood for the store of Rouen but the discovery of the excellent geothermal energy in its basement has forced our decision." "It is an exceptional case," says Pierre Deyries.

The Reims store will only have a wood boiler. Project of Caen, which expects its commercial authorization, will combine wood and a heat pump. Next January, Ikea will determine renovations of its existing fleet. The lyonnais tabling of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier gas heating will increase to wood. Its boiler is 25 of gas of Ikea France. Other similar boilers should be replaced. "It is clear that we build now more on the gas," says Pierre Deyries. Long term, Ikea plans even generate its own electricity, a photovoltaic plant for example. An alternative to the expensive green certificates.