Using grape vine prunings to heat municipal buildings

The vine prunings are baled with the help of a baling machine. After drying, we use them to heat municipal institutions, partially or completely replacing fossil fuels.

In 2015, local farmers contacted the municipality about tackling the problem of vine disease through joint efforts. The reason for this was that as a result of the ban on burning the prunings, these were shredded, forcing farmers to increase the use of pesticides. In response to this challenge, the municipality purchased a tractor and a baling machine.

Cost-effectiveness and progressiveness were important in the design of the system, which was built step by step at low cost. In the following year, a bale gasification boiler was purchased for the nursery school. Unfortunately, it did not work well over several years, so it was replaced by a boiler of a domestic manufacturer. This one proved to be very good and is still in use. The boiler also has a buffer tank which is heated in 2 hours. The boiler is manually operated. During the heating season, the boiler consumes about four bales a day.

Meanwhile, this heating system has been installed in three other institutions. During last year's energy crisis, gas heating was completely phased out from the nursery school. The use of the vine prunings would not have been viable on a small scale, because a farmer can produce only 5-6 bales per year, but at municipal level, 500-600 hectares of vineyards give us a considerable source of vine prunings.