When you run a major tourist destination in the Halland countryside, the guest experience must be something truly special. Ästad Vingård is aware of this, as one of Sweden's largest vineyards with a spa, hotel and conference facilities, and a one-star restaurant in the Michelin Guide.

Since 2014, SI has had the task of controlling and automating the increasingly complex cooling, heating, ventilation and water systems on the farm and trimming down energy use.

"Ästad Gård has a big vision, our role is to find the solutions that make it possible. Now, a gigantic challenge has also emerged in the form of skyrocketing energy prices and power shortages: it is important to use resources in a smart way without compromising the visitors' experience," says Martin Johansson, project manager at SI.

Many climates in one place

Many different climates must be maintained simultaneously. The newly built Äng restaurant is a large greenhouse with an accompanying wine cellar, where guests will be able to dine in a shirt and blouse regardless of the time of day or year. Two large ground source heat pumps provide all heating and cooling, including the cold and freezer rooms, as well as a tolerable working climate in the restaurant kitchen.

Winemaking is a world of its own microclimate, controlled by careful temperature control in every room, wine tank and phase of the fermentation process. In the wine cellar, a constant temperature and humidity ensure that the wines last through many years of storage. Add to this two additional restaurants, sauna heaters in every hotel room, several spa baths and a large conference facility, and the efficiency challenge is a fact: a challenge that SI has taken on.

Smart control around the clock

"The system registers energy use on the farm: what do the visitors do at different times? They eat, bathe and sauna at approximately the same times from day to day. The behavior is learned into the system, which can start and stop power-hungry functions at critical times, be controlled according to hourly electricity prices and even out energy consumption," says Martin Johansson.

The large saunas can be preheated and then briefly turned off when the restaurant kitchen is started up. The hotel rooms' air conditioning is linked to the booking system and is in energy-saving mode until the guest has checked in. The electricity production from the farm's 500 kW solar park is predicted using SMHI's solar forecast and is fed to the parking lot's many charging stations at favorable times. In the spas, water quality is monitored and purification is optimized to reduce the use of chemicals and hot water.

These are important questions for Ästad Vingård, which has high ambitions on the sustainability front according to CEO and owner Daniel Carlsson.

"We are just at the beginning of our sustainability journey. We are trying to be at the forefront of everything we build and create to achieve smart properties and take control of our footprint on the earth. We are working hard to move forward on that journey with smart governance, good control over the climate and efficient buildings. This provides energy efficiency and optimization but also guest comfort."

Press photos can be downloaded here
(In the picture: Martin Johansson, SI with the frost protection system in the vineyard)

Press photos Ästad Vineyard

For more information about SI's solution at Ästad Vingård and interviews, contact: