FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions, answered plainly.

What the system is, what it costs, what happens to your building, and who runs it once it's in the ground. If something's missing, write to erik@renotch.com and we'll answer it directly.

The system

What does the Re:notch system do?+
It stores the solar energy your building can't use in summer as heat in the bedrock below, and delivers it back as heating in winter. One system covers heating, cooling and hot water all year round, at one predictable price.
Isn't this just a normal ground-source heat pump?+
No, and the difference is the whole point. A conventional borehole passively takes what little warmth the earth holds, around 8°C, and cools down further every year you use it. We actively charge the ground with your summer surplus and hold it at 18-25°C. A heat pump drawing from warm ground uses roughly half the electricity of one drawing from cold ground, and the store is refilled every summer instead of slowly running out.
How is this different from a battery?+
A battery shifts electricity by hours. We shift heat by months. They solve different problems and work well together: the battery handles the day, we handle the season. The reason we can do it is cost - holding a megawatt-hour of energy costs somewhere around €100,000 in lithium cells, and a few hundred euros in bedrock. A season's worth of storage is uneconomic in a battery and routine for us.
What kind of buildings is this for?+
Commercial buildings with a large, year-round heat demand: logistics and warehouses, offices, retail and large residential blocks. It is the size of the heating bill that decides, not the square metres. The other thing we need is some open ground on the plot to drill in.
Do we need to change our heating system?+
No. The system delivers heat at the temperatures your existing heating is built for. It can replace a gas boiler or complement district heating. Your building keeps working exactly the way it does today, only cheaper.
Can we connect our existing solar panels?+
Yes, and they're the ideal starting point. Their summer surplus finally has somewhere to go instead of being sold to the grid for next to nothing, which is what makes the panels pay again. If the roof has spare space, more solar suddenly becomes worth installing - typically up to four times as much. Solar is not a requirement, though: the store can also be charged from cheap grid hours.

Cost and savings

How much can we save?+
You typically pay 50 to 75% less for heating and cooling from day one, and keep that for the next 25 years at a predictable, index-linked price, protected from volatile electricity markets. Your free assessment gives you the exact figures for your building.
How much does it cost?+
The upfront cost is on par with a conventional borehole thermal storage plant. Under our co-invest model we fund it together, and it typically repays itself within five years through the savings it creates - often sooner in practice, since the resulting uplift in property value can cover the investment on its own.
What does it do to the property's value?+
Lower, predictable energy costs flow straight into net operating income, and net operating income is what the property is valued on. The uplift is often large enough to cover the entire investment by itself, so the money comes back to you twice: once as lower bills, and once as a more valuable asset.
Does it protect us against peak energy prices?+
Yes. You pay a predictable, index-linked price for heating and cooling for 25 years. Winter price spikes and volatile energy markets stop being your problem.

Your building and the installation

Where do the boreholes go?+
For an existing building, in almost any open area on the property: a lawn, a parking lot, a courtyard. The ground is restored afterwards and nothing is visible above the surface. For a new build, they can go directly under the footprint, drilled before the foundation is poured, taking no extra land at all.
How disruptive is the installation?+
Drilling takes weeks, not years, and it happens outside the building. Your tenants carry on as normal throughout, and the ground is put back the way it was when the rig leaves.
Does the drilling affect groundwater?+
No. It is a closed, sealed system in the bedrock, with no water exchange with the surroundings. Depths stay within standard permitting, and ground conditions are tested before anything is built.
Does it work outside Sweden?+
The system needs stable ground with low groundwater flow, which is the rule rather than the exception across most of Northern and Central Europe. It doesn't need special geology, just quiet ground. Conditions are always verified in the free assessment before anything is promised.

Running it

Who operates the system?+
We do, remotely, around the clock. You buy delivered heating and cooling at a predictable, contracted price under a long-term agreement. Nothing on site needs your attention.
How much maintenance is required?+
None from you. Our partners handle service on site, and the storage itself has no moving parts and never ages. Rock doesn't degrade the way batteries do.
What happens in a cloudy summer or a very cold winter?+
The storage is sized with margins from your building's real data, and the system always holds a reserve. Heat delivery comes first, in every situation. Your grid connection stays in place as backup, exactly as today.
How sustainable is it?+
The building runs on its own renewable surplus instead of fuels or peak-hour grid power. No combustion, no chemical batteries to replace, and a sharply lower winter load on the grid - which strengthens your ESG position and takes strain off the energy system everyone else depends on.
STILL WONDERING?

The best answer is your own building's numbers.

Send us the address and your energy bills. We simulate the building and come back with what you'd save, what it costs, how fast it pays for itself, and whether the ground under you works at all. Free, no commitment, and yours to keep.

Get a free site assessment
or write to erik@renotch.com