loading
Final report from Infotherma 2015 Černá louka Exhibition grounds, Ostrava, January 19th-22nd, 2015. The exhibition was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Agriculture. The 12th edition of the annual Infotherma Exhibition featured 365 domestic and foreign companies and institutions that completely filled the Ostrava exhibition grounds. Foreign exhibitors were primarily from Slovakia and Poland, as well as Slovenia, Austria and Italy. The exhibition was attended by over 26,600 visitors. The exhibition was organized by Agentura Inforpres, which focused on showcasing new heating system technology, energy savings, measurement and regulation technology, insulation, building renovation and viable uses of renewable resources. According to visitor surveys and response from previous years, the greatest interest was in new heating system technology (boilers, fireplaces, tiled stoves, heaters, radiators, floor heating etc.). Considering the high price of refined fuels, there were over 40 domestic and foreign exhibitors presenting state-of-the-art solid fuel boilers which not only save fuel, but in some cases are also easy to operate with feeders, automatic loaders, regulation etc. Visitors were able to see many of these exhibits in operation at outdoor exhibition areas. New ways to save energy presented at the exhibition included new heating system technology, companies with low-energy passive construction, insulation materials, thermal insulated windows, blinds, etc. Interest continues to grow in the viable use of renewable resources. Infotherm has traditionally been the largest showcase for heat pumps. Not only did 59 foreign and domestic companies present their heat pumps, but there were also seminars on this topic and quality certificates were issued. Other renewable resource technology included solar collectors and boilers running on biomass and wood gas, etc. Visitors voted to select the exhibits with the most interesting technical innovations. The companies receiving the most votes were VIADRUS, ATMOS, KOVARSON, ROMOTOP, DAKON, BUDERUS, JUNKERS, VIESSMANN, BENEKOV and ROJEK. The exhibition wouldn’t live up to its reputation if it did not offer at least a glimpse of where we might find non-traditional sources energy in the future. A series of panels titled “Where Energy Awaits” attempted to identify some domestic and foreign options. Various topics were presented along with the first prototypes of domestic and foreign designs. Areas of interest included shale gas extraction, the use of geothermal energy, energy from burning slag heaps, the collection of atmospheric electricity and electrical charges, nuclear fusion, the use of micro-algae as energy, new wind turbine designs and much more.   Like every year, an extensive program of events was prepared for visitors. The Congress Center hosted the national conference on the amendment of the Energy Use Act as well as seminars on using heat pumps, legislative changes in 2015, financing the replacement and repair of heating systems, and other topics. Additionally, a number of lectures, meetings and discussions were held in the A1 entrance pavilion. All lectures, events and consultations were free for visitors. Part of the reason the exhibition is attended each year by over 26,000 visitors is its long-standing media partnership with over fifty Czech and Slovak professional magazines, websites and the daily newspaper Právo. The organizers always like to know in advance what visitors are most interested in, what they would like to see, and what information they want. For Infotherm 2015 there were several Internet voting contests. The “TOP ENERGY 2015” poll was organized in cooperation with Net Press Media publishers and featured the categories of heating, energy efficiency, alternative resources and low-energy and passive construction. On the TZB-info website there was a voting contest called “Infotherm 2015 Innovations” and on the Stavebnictvi3000 website a contest called “Let’s Choose Insulation”. The winning exhibits and designs were presented in the entrance hall of the exhibition.