Dispute over unreliable heating Going to court pays off for 13 Baden families
In Baden AG, 13 families are fighting to renovate their unreliable geothermal probe heating system. They have now reached an agreement with the energy provider in court.
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- 13 families in Aargau have been suffering for years from an unreliable geothermal probe heating system.
- Because the borehole length of 100 meters is not sufficient for the required heat, the residents fear total failure every winter.
- Now the families and the energy provider have reached a settlement in court.
For years, 13 families in the Rütihöfl housing estate in Baden AG have been struggling with an unreliable borehole heating system. "Every winter we are afraid of a total breakdown," says one resident to the Aargauer Zeitung newspaper. They actually signed a 15-year carefree package 13 years ago - but since then there has only been trouble.
The geothermal probe heating system was installed by Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB) in 2011 - as a sustainable alternative to the old oil heating system. But after just a few years, the performance of the geothermal probes deteriorated because the drilling length was insufficient.
The Baden district court has now dealt with the matter. To prevent the heating system from breaking down, the community wants to renovate it at IWB's expense. The latter, on the other hand, proposes to supplement the system with gas heating.
Parties agree on a settlement
However, a judgment was not necessary: the affected families and IWB agreed on a compromise. "We are very happy with the settlement proposed by the court, which IWB also agreed to," said one resident to the Aargauer Zeitung newspaper.
Now the contract with IWB can be terminated on good terms and another company can be commissioned to carry out the necessary renovation. "The plant is now completely ours, which gives us freedom." They are all happy that the chapter is finally closed.
The village of Rütihof is located in the Reuss Valley and forms an exclave of the town of Baden. Because the settlement is located in a moraine area, it was not possible to drill deeper than 100 meters, according to an IWB subcontractor. However, drilling to a depth of 250 meters was actually necessary. Since then, the boreholes have been at risk of freezing in cold winters with temperatures below and around zero.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.