Integrating PV modules in the outer shell may enable ship builders to contruct sustainable low-energy cabins with a higher degree of self-sufficiency in energy generation and consumption.
The building sector offers immense potential for avoiding CO2 emissions by increasing the electrification, hybridisation and interconnection of its technical equipment. However, the building stock is extremely diverse, meaning that highly customised solutions are required – especially as perspective three climate-neutral supply network structures are available in the future, i.e. district heating, H2-gas and electricity. In view of the rapid technological and demographic change, this poses major challenges for skilled personnel when it comes to implementation.
If viewed separately from an energy technology perspective, each individual modern building is a complex networked system, in which technical equipment from PV systems to heat pumps and EV charge points are networked to form a coordinated operation management. In addition, from a system perspective, buildings should be considered as part of the upper-level electricity, gas and heating networks: Flexibility options arising from sector integration must make an important contribution to the balancing of production and demand in the electricity grids in the face of fluctuating feed-in.
The Sector Integration – Buildings group supports the energy transition by developing and validating elements of technical building equipment. In particular, we look at heat supply systems and the operation of their components in a realistic system environment. In order to optimise the "overall building system" together with the individual systems, we use both physical models and experimental laboratory set-ups. Doing so, we can realise operation management schemes that meet modern requirements and considers both the user's objectives (e.g. PV self-consumption) and the overall system requirements (e.g. flexibility of energy demand).
We utilise the knowledge gained in this process across our institute to come up with software solutions that ensure the interaction of components among each other as well as with sensors and external data sources such as weather or price information in networked systems. Our aim here is to develop adaptive, self-learning systems that in practice require significantly less support from specialised staff and at the same time ensure optimal system operation.
