Liveable Future Park

Pollution, lack of energy carriers, climate change, civilization diseases – we are ahead of great challenges if we want to leave a liveable environment for our children and the next generations. It is very important to produce power in an eco- and climate-friendly way, not only to reduce the energy consumption. To do that the common thinking of humanity is needed.

Therefor we implemented the Liveable Future Park in Fót, near Budapest. The Liveable Future Park is a little energy and research island where we can show the real potential of alternative energy and the latest technology. We created the Liveable Future Park to transmit knowledge, sensitize and encourage for the usage of alternative energy. For this purpose we present numerous ways of how one can win renewable energy from the nature itself. As a result the Fót Centre is now almost independent from the large power stations and the public electricity grid. We are very proud of the fact that we succeded to reduce the annual electricity bill of the Centre from 30.000 EUR to 10 EUR in just three years.

Only together we can create a better future for ourselves.

Wind energy

Mankind has already been making use of the wind’s energy for thousands of years. Since the end of the 19th century the wind energy lost its relevance with the roll-out of the electricity grid but in the end of the 20th century once again there was an increasing awareness of the oppotunities offered by the renewable energy sources including wind energy. Therefor the Fót Centre have a wind turbine. Like most of the nacelles the Fót wind turbine is able to make a 360 degree turn around the tower axis enabling it to operate whatever the wind direction is.  The key benefit of this 20 kW wind turbine type is the low start-up speed: the blades do start moving already at a wind speed of 3 m/s. The turbine has its own control unit which communicates via an optical network with the smart control system which is located in the Visitors’ Centre.

Solar energy

Using solar energy is a big step towards energy autonomy. In Fót Liveable Future Park the experts installed a small photovoltaic system consisting of 286 solar modules with an overall capacity of 72,14 kW.

1. Stable, 65 solar modules, 15,6 kW
2. Educational building, 92 solar modules, 23 kW
3. Visitors’ Centre, 129 solar modules, 33,54 kW

Hydropower

Where the geographical conditions are suitable, energy from water is one of the most efficient energy sources. Unfortunately the geographical conditions in Hungary are not very favourable for the construction of hydroelectric power stations, as the rivers crossing the country have only a very small difference in elevation. However the latest water turbines can produce energy even in these unfavourable conditions.  The experts of ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ Group suggested that we should also harness the brook on site of the Fót facility in order to form part of the Therapeutic Riding Centre’s energy system. As a result a micro-hydroelectric power station has been built on the Mogyoród brook and the electricity generated is fed into the Centre’s low voltage grid. It is worth mentioning that the water intake structure is made of larch wood, which seems quite unusual at first glance. However, this material is not only environment-friendly, but also resists fungi and infections, and withstands the strain of the water and even extreme weather conditions in the long run.

Hot water

The Therapeutic Riding Centre’s hot water supply is granted by the solar panels which are located on the roof of the stable and on the top of the educational building. The liquid circulating in the solar panels is heated up by the solar radiation and with the help of a heat pump, the system grants the hot water supply of the Visitors’ Centre as well.

Heat pump

Many people are not aware of that up to 80 percent of household energy consumption is used for heating and hot water production. At the Fót Liveable Future Park, ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ Group has installed an air-to-water heat pump, which is connected to the heating-cooling system of the Visitors’ Centre. The equipment is able to provide heating in winter and cooling in summer periods with a pipe system running under the floor. The smart monitoring system can continuously ensure an optimal temperature in the premises. This method consumes 50-60 percent less energy than the traditional heating methods.

Insulations

The buildings of Liveable Future Park were renewed considering energy-saving aspects, therefor they are provided with the latest insulations. The windows are made with triple glazing.

Energy storage

There are such periods when the Liveable Future Park produces more energy than the Therapeutic Riding Centre consumes. This extra energy is not lost as it gets into an energy storage and recovery system. In this energy storage and recovery system 186 battery storage can store the energy for a specific time and can return the energy into the electric network if it is needed. 

Lighting system

Except the three solar outdoor lamp posts which are installed at the playground, in the area of Liveable Future Park, all outdoor illuminators operate with LED technology. The LED lighting provides optimal illumination even under various lighting conditions, it is enduring, it does not require any special maintenance and it has a very low energy demand. Unfortunately, the lighting of the riding area is not solved with LED technology yet, but we hope that we can find a suitable technology in the near future with which we can solve the LED ligting of the riding area as well.

Intelligent lighting

The intelligent lighting post shown in the picture is capable of many other things too than only lighting. It is an illuminator with LED technology but also an electric car charger station, public hotspot with free wifi and a display on it warns for strong UV rays. In addition, it is equipped with a security camera.

Electric mobility

In the area of Liveable Future Park the staff use three electric mopeds and two electric bicycles for transportation. As the length of the Park is 1,5 km they usually don’t use cars. ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ Group has installed a free-standing electric car charger station and a wall charger where the batteries of up to three cars can be charged at the same time. In addition there is a charger station in the Park which i suitable for the charge of electric mopeds and bicycles as well.

Automatic feeding system for horses

These boxes shown in the picture are feeding installations for horses which operate with solar energy. The required electricity is stored by charger storages. The feeding installations are free-standing so they can be used in the territory of the pasture as well where there is no electrical connection. 

Smart Control System

In order to provide for a safe energy supply, electricity operators do apply metering, data collection, management and supervisory control systems using computer-controlled devices. The key tasks of the smart control system are the following: monitor the energy consumption, remote control, remote operation, develop special schedules and routines, forecasting energy demand and optimisation of the entire system. All data of the energy-generating equipment operated at the Therapeutic Riding Centre and key end-user data is stored on a central server. It provides for processing and displaying the data, and commands are issued from here. The operation of the facilities using renewable energy sources at the Fót Liveable Future Park largely depends on the weather conditions and on energy demand at a given time; this means that careful planning is required in order to integrate each and every element and component into a network and develop the smart control system. Energy management systems are based on SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems. Special software applications (supplementary modules) make these systems „smart”. The software applications run on a high capacity computer system provided by HP as support to the initiative of the Children’s Safety Service

Therapy

In the Therapeutic Riding Centre the experts grant about 10.000 therapies each year for physically or mentally ill children and for children with autism or other behavioral disorders. 98 percent of the patients come from inland and 2 percent from abroad. The costs of the therapies are covered mostly by donations and sponsorships, the parents have to pay only the 10-15 percent of the costs.

Horses

We have 36 horses right now at the Therapeutic Riding Centre. Most of our ponies are Lewitzer Ponies. These ponies are robust and 130-148 cm high. They have a good nature and a big willingness to work that is why they are ideal for dressage and recreational riding as well. We have really good experiences with this breed in the field of therapeutic riding. Besides them we have several big horses, mostly Hanoverian horses. We use them for the trainings of therapists and also for dressage.

Hippotherapy

Hippotherapy is a medically based treatment tool, a form of physical, occupational and speech therapy that uses equine movement to develop and enhance neurological and physical functioning by channeling the movement of the horse. The horses used for therapy receive a special training. Hippotherapy is built on the concept that the individual’s neuromuscular development is enhanced when their body makes adjustments to the gait, tempo, rhythm, repetition and cadence of a horse’s movement.

Therapeutic vaulting

Therapeutic vaulting is a type of horse therapy which helps children with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disability and also children with behavioral disabilities like hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, or speaking problems. The riding and other forms of interaction with horses like caretaking and tooling improve mentally, physically, emotionally and socially the patients.

Equine facilitated therapy

At the Fót Therapeutic Riding Centre we offer equine facilitated therapy as well for our clients. This type of equine therapy improves the self-control and social skills of children with psychological problems. As they getting new experiences from riding, they discover new skills and enegies in themselves.

Parasport

Children with disabilities can continue collecting the positive experiences gained during riding in the field of parasport. After finishing the therapy, children and youngsters often start practicing parasport. The ICSS traines parasport coaches as well.

Training of therapists

The Therapeutic Riding Association carries out accredited trainings for therapists since 2003. The Fót Therapeutic Riding Centre is the only institute that can carry out accredited trainings for physiotherapists, psychotherapists, psychologists and parasport coaches as well. The quality training lasts for 2-3 years. Until now 72 therapists passed the exams in Fót.

Competitions

We organize each year in September a competition in Fót. The specialty of the FEI Dressage is that in parallel the dressage, children and youngsters participate at a therapeutic riding competition and even a joint competition takes place during the event when the professionals and the disabled children compete. The children have to solve some skill assigments on horseback: for example they balance a glass of water in their hands, throw a ball into a bucket, perform gymnastic exercises on horseback. The audience is always enchanted by that event when a child tells a story in which he or she and the horse are the main characters.

Playgrounds

The Fót Liveable Future Park awaits the children with three different, well-equipped playgrounds. Nowadays, when a lot of children stay inside instead of go out and play it is very important that something inviting lure them outside, into the fresh air. The children who come to the Liveable Future Park or to the Therapeutic Riding Centre, all enjoy to play on these playgrounds. We hope that the parents see how important it is for their children to be on the fresh air, in the nature and in large, open spaces.

Herb spiral

Today, in addition to conventional remedy the natural cures have an increasing role. It is well known that too much antibiotics are weakening the immun system in the long run. The correct herbs can often help the healing process and reduce the symptoms. We present the most important herbs at the Liveable Future Park’s Herb Spiral. The spiral walkway has an 18 m diameter and it presents 70 different types of herbs from lavender to rosemary.

Mobile Dental Bus and Gynecological Truck

The ICSS keeps a bus and a camion for medical purposes. The inside of both vehicles is a high standard medical office. Inside the bus, a dental clinic operates with the most modern equipment. The ICSS’ volunteer doctors screen and treat 10-14.000 children each year. The mobile dental bus works in Hungary and across the border as well.

Inside the camion, gynecological screening, consulting and treatment take place. This vehicle is also equipped with the latest instruments, including an ultrasound device with which the examination and screening or prenatal care of teenagers and adults are assured. The truck is mainly on route in the neighbor countries, east from Hungary.

Audiometric testing

According to the report of WHO 20 percent of children have hearing damage today.  The ICSS finds it important to draw attention to this problem and primarily sensitize the immediate surroundings of parents and children. The ICSS’ volunteer specialists do screenings and treatments, spread information about this problem. Their work is controlled by Prof. Dr. Tamás Hacki, Professor of University Hospital Regensburg.

Dr. Peter Edvi,

founding president of ICSS, initiator of Fót Liveable Future Park

Dr. Marie-Theres Thiell,

president of Directorate of ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ, initiator of Fót Liveable Future Park.

Dr. Frank-Detlef Drake

Dr. Frank-Detlef Drake manages the research and development department of RWE Group since 2008. He joined RWE in 2002. First, he was in leader position at the power sector for three years then at the international gas sector. Later he became the director of RWE Gas Midstream. Before RWE, Frank-Detlef Drake was a partner et McKinsey consulting company in Düsseldorf.

László Kövér

Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, president of International Children’s Safety Service Hungarian Association

Peter Holzmüller

Director of Finance at the outpatient department of Mainz University Hospital. Hippotherapist, Bobath-therapist, manager of the hippotherapeutic trainings at Therapeutic Riding Centre in Fót since 2000. Since 2010, he participates at the events of ICSS as a clown doctor. 

Prof. Dr. Tamás Hacki

Professor at Regensburg University Hospital, honorary professor at Semmelweis University of Budapest and Eötvös Loránd University.

Prof. Dr. Tamás Hacki is a member of ICSS’ volunteer medical team. Since a few years – along with his pediatrician wife, Dr. Zsuzsanna Hacki – he participates at screening tests in Transylvania. As an ear-nose and throat specialist, phoniater and a children’s audiologist he coordinates the activity of ICSS related to children’s hearing, phonation and aphasia. Prof. Hacki initiated the project named „The strategy of audiometric testing of children, reducing noise pollution affecting children” which is a joint project with the Acoustic Inter-Agency Standing Committee of Hungarian Academy of Sciences and sponsored by the Ministry of Human Capacities. In this project, Prof. Hacki controls the medical expert group.

Gábor Németh
Horse trainer and rider coach. He was trained in Hungary and at Celle stud farm in Germany.

Katalin Andráczy
Head of Secretariat

Zsófia Auth

Psychologist. She works at ICSS’ Therapeutic Riding Centre since 2013, she manages Equine facilitated therapy

Boglárka Bíró-Réti

Therapeutic vaulting teacher, she manages equine facilitated learning and vaulting sessions.

Gabriella Bozori

Remediation teacher-riding therapist. She manages the ICSS’s Therapeutic Riding Centre in Fót since 2005. She manages equine facilitated learning therapies and vaulting sessions. Vice-president of Hungarian Therapeutic Riding Association, docent of Kaposvár University.

Róbert Bata
Gardener

Zsolt Sándor
Technical Personnel/Maintainer

Andrea Andrejkovics
Psychologist, hippotherapist. She works at ICSS’ Therapeutic Riding Centre in part-time since 2014.

Csenge Gelley
Psychologist, hippotherapist. She works at the Neurology Department of Semmelweis University and at ICSS’ Therapeutic Riding Centre.

Enikő Katona
Remediation teacher – riding therapist, hippotherapist. She passed the exam for hippotherapists at the Hungarian Therapeutic Riding Association in 2001. Since then, she works at the Therapeutic Riding Centre.

Area and buildings

When ICSS took over the area and the buildings, everything was in a very bad condition. Since then, ICSS renewed, insulated and provided with solar panels four buildings. The educational and office building, one of the stables with a big auditorium on the upper floor, the Visitors’ Centre (where the renewable energy sources are presented) and a fourth building where there are physiotherapy rooms and guest rooms were reconstructed.

History

The story of Fót Liveable Future Park is closely related to the story of International Children’s Safety Service. For the first time after the collapse of the totalitarian Rumanian regime, Dr. Edvi received information about the hair-raising conditions in Rumanian orphanages. Dr. Edvi and his friend Dr. László Kövér were given the opportunity during the 1989 Christmas-days to convince themselves of the saddening truth right at the scene, to obtain first-hand evidence and to verify reports by their Transylvanian friends. All efforts to render help on a private basis proved completely insufficient. It was absolutely necessary to turn to the public and to organize help; hence the International Children's Safety Service was founded in Hanover/Germany then in 1990 in Hungary too. Over the years ICSS has been established as one of the most important non-government welfare organisations in Hungary with the priority of giving financial, social and health-related support and subsistence to children in need, irrespectively of national, political or religious affiliation.  The ICCS operates with 12 big framework programmes. The International Children's Safety Service opened its free specialist outpatient surgery for children in need next to its office in September 2002. At present we offer paediatrical and child neurological specialist's consultation, special therapy for hyperactive and for children having behaviour problems. Starting in September 1995 the ICSS has operated its own dental ambulance-bus in Hungary and in the neighbouring countries. ICSS also operates a gynecological truck. In 2000 ICSS took over a 32 ha area in Fót and created the Therapeutic Riding Centre where therapeutic riding for children and youngsters and accredited trainings take place. ICSS’ volunteer medical group does medical screenings and examinations in Transylvania twice a year and occassionaly also in Transcarpathia. The educational and post-graduate programme of ICSS is very strong, the Fót Liveable Future Park belongs in this programme. ICSS also operates a foster-parent programme and it takes relief shipments to Transylvania and Transcarpathia. ICSS is committed to enforcing the rights of children, it participates in the codification related to this subject. It organizes events, gives advice and information. The ICSS is financed in small parts by member fees, mostly however by honorary activities and donations.

One of ICSS’ important sponsors is ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ Group. The idea of a joint project, the Fót Liveable Future Park was born in 2011. Thanks to this idea, the Fót Therapeutic Riding Centre has become a little „energy and research island”. Researchers and students of universities can measure the wind energy, study the solar energy at Fót Liveable Future Park and can analyze the network effects of a complex decentralized power generation system. The project partially provides the energy supply of ICSS’ Therapeutic Riding Centre at the same time.  

More information about ICSS: www.gyermekmento.hu/en  

ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ

ELMŰ-ÉMÁSZ Group is one of the biggest power companies in Hungary, it covers mostly Budapest and North-Hungary. The majority owner, RWE and the International Children’s Safety Service created the Fót Liveable Future Park together. In the Visitors’ Centre ELMŰ presents the results of the latest researches related to renewable energy sources. At the Liveable Future Park, other research projects take place as well, financed by RWE. 

Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz Hungária Kft. is a committed supporter of ICSS and supports mostly the healthcare programme. In addition it is an important participant of Liveable Future Park Project. In the Liveable Future Park, Mercedes presents its electric and hybrid cars, and its electric bicycles as well. Mercedes supports ICSS also through Formula-1: Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg all have already visited ICSS’ institutes.

Jörg Schmidt
Executive Director of Mercedes-Benz Hungária Kft

Ekkehard Philipp
Director of Finance of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft.

Ingo Fröhlich
Former Executive Director of Mercedes-Benz Hungária Kft. .

Hewlett Packard

The HP Enterprise (previously Hewlett-Packard Company) is one of the largest IT companies of the world and is famous for its PCs and printers. ICSS got all of its computers and printers from the company as a support. In addition Hewlett-Packard grants the IT background of the Liveable Future Park with its high performance and energy saving IT equipments.

Gábor Gonda

CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Hungary.

Team Buildings

There are such companies that don’t support the Fót Therapeutic Riding Centre and the Liveable Future Park financially but with their own work as they do team buildings in Fót. Their colleagues arrive to Fót in several groups and they do different jobs there together. For example they paint the fences, reconstruct the tools of the playgrounds, maintain the pasture, prepare new territories, etc. 

Universities
The most direct professional participants of Liveable Future Park are Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Óbuda University. ICSS has a research agreement with both institutes, according to which the students can research the alternative energy sources in Fót.

Dr. Gyula Gróf
Dr Gyula Gróf is the head of the Energy Engineering Department of Budapest University of Technology and Economics. His research areas are energetic systems, thermal transfer, heat engineering and the definition of thermophysical properties. Among others he is a member of Fluid and Heat Engineering Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; and the National Committee of WEC. He is also a member of Hungarian Academy of Engineering and the managing editor of the scientific journal named „Energy Management”.

Dr. János Józsa
Rector of Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Mrs Zsófia Dőry Molnár
Assistant Professor at Energy Engineering Department of Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She is writing her PhD thesis about the Fót Liveable Future Park.

Legal Notice

International Children’s Safety Service / Liveable Future Park

H-2153 Fót, Vörösmarty tér 2., Hungary

President / Peter EDVI

Tel. +36 1 475 7000 / +36 27 539 370
Fax +36 1 302 4136 / +36 27 539 376

E-Mail: ngysz@gyermekmento.hu

Internet:

http://park-der-erlebbaren-zukunft.org/

https://www.livable-future-park.org

http://elheto-jovo-park.org/

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