Empa Turns Buildings Into Players in the Energy System

(CONNECT) A predictive control algorithm developed by Empa optimizes energy management in buildings in such a way that security of supply is guaranteed throughout the entire energy system. Automated building systems communicate directly with energy providers and the electricity grid.

According to a report by Empa, automated systems can optimize electricity consumption in such a way that both grid stability and consumer flexibility are guaranteed at all times. At the same time, energy surpluses are not necessarily stored locally, but fed into the electricity grid wherever possible so that demand can be met at any time.

The practical test conducted by Empa's Urban Energy Systems Lab in its NEST test building in Dübendorf focused on the reduction of CO2 emissions, the flexibility of energy demand and the comfort of the occupants. Using the predictive control algorithm, the team succeeded in optimizing the energy management within the building with the following setup: a photovoltaic system for electricity production, a battery storage system, a heat pump and a bidirectional charging station for electric vehicles.

The system reportedly reduced the building's CO2 emissions by more than 10 percent. The building was able to communicate the consumption and feed-in of electricity in advance. "The experiment has therefore shown that the flexible availability of renewable energies is not a problem a priori," says Empa.

However, in order to implement these results on a large scale, buildings would have to be consistently digitized in the future. The technology developed by scientist Federica Bellizio is to be launched on the market by the start-up Kuafu. For this, she was recently awarded the Empa Entrepreneur Fellowship. ce/mm