Innovation

Energy renovation kits for residential buildings

Launch of the new research project “sEnSys

As part of the “sEnSys” project, Enisyst is researching ways to carry out energy refurbishment in existing buildings in an energy-efficient and economical way. The means of choice is an intelligent control system that optimally coordinates the electrical and thermal storage units as well as the charging stations for the e-car and communicates with the higher-level energy management system.

A climate-neutral building standard is necessary for achieving the climate protection goals in the building sector for new buildings as well as for existing buildings. In terms of energy and construction, the realisation of energy-neutral buildings is already possible in many cases. However, characteristics such as uncoordinated individual components, the lack of an overarching control strategy and a lack of knowledge in system integration often make an economic and functional realisation difficult.

With the “sEnSys” project, a comprehensive concept for energy-efficient, economical and grid-serving buildings is now to be developed and implemented.

For this purpose, a refurbishment in the existing building stock is being carried out using the example of a multi-storey apartment building in the cooperative housing sector.

In the research network, the Technical University of Nuremberg, enisyst GmbH, GEWOBAU Erlangen and GPE GmbH are jointly developing the solution approaches for the model refurbishment of the multi-storey apartment building, which is located in the housing stock of GEWOBAU in Erlangen. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection from June 2022 to May 2025 and is listed under the funding code 03EN1053A.

The implementation of energy-efficient, intelligent building technology is to succeed with the help of renewable energies and a PV system with optimised self-use. The goal is to achieve the status of a very low-energy building.

In the project, an intelligent control system is to be developed that optimally coordinates the electrical and thermal storage units as well as the charging stations for the e-car and negotiates the time requirements with the higher-level energy management system.

To achieve economic operation, operator models for electricity and heat concepts will be investigated and implemented. The additional costs for the expense of components and control functions are to be compensated for by increased system efficiency and thus lower energy consumption costs, the elimination of external consumption billing and the full exploitation of the possibilities of tenant electricity.

Acceptance of the energy refurbishment can only be achieved if the occupants benefit from the economic and technical interaction. The system control therefore includes building-wide energy and load management, which includes user integration. A user interface is to visualise measured values and enable control interventions by the user.

Research project aims to use rainwater to supply a neighbourhood with heating and cooling

Rain2energy” project launched in Bamberg

The recently launched research project deals with the sustainable supply of the city quarter “ecoSquare” in Bamberg. The innovative energy concept envisages a regenerative thermal supply via a complex cold local heating network with heat pumps. As part of the project, Enisyst is to develop a synergetically optimised overall concept from this.

Two rainwater cisterns with a total volume of approx. 130 m³ are to heat and cool the ecoSquare quarter, which is currently under construction, via a cold local heating ring. In order to exploit the potential, an AI-based predictive control technology is being developed that enables intelligent storage management with weather forecasts, heating and cooling load profiles and the rainwater utilisation profile. A further goal of the control strategy is a rainwater balance without runoff into the canal and the use of rainwater to irrigate the green spaces.

In the project, Enisyst is dealing with the control engineering challenge of combining the energy utilisation goals and those of rainwater management in a synergetically optimised overall concept.

In addition, the project is investigating questions regarding the treatment of rainwater and the changed biodiversity, as well as analysing building permit processes. After completion of construction, monitoring and operational optimisation will follow.

Cold local heating for 400 residential units

Pilot project launched in Bad Nauheim

For the construction of a spa town in Bad Nauheim (Hesse), which will begin 1 May 2020 and supply 400 residential units with cold local heating, enisyst will be responsible for monitoring and control of the town’s heating network (including heat pumps).

“Cold local heating“ is an innovative new form of heat supply gaining popularity across Germany. The name refers to the transport and regenerative supply of heat energy in a pipeline network at a low temperature level, enabling the provision of heat in a climate-friendly, sustainable manner.

Bad Nauheim will be accompanied by a pilot project for a new grid-based heating and cooling supply with decentralised heat pumps. A two-layer large collector (22,000 m² collector surface) and 6 km long cold local heating network (KNW) will supply cold local heating to about 400 residential units.

The research project, “KNW-Opt”, will scientifically accompany and analyse the implemented system to obtain reliable key data on energy performance and economic efficiency. In this way, the project shall contribute to the demonstration and dissemination of this innovative system solution.

Due to Hesse’s large number of distributed heat pumps and photovoltaic systems, intelligent sector coupling between electricity and heat supply plays a central role.

On the one hand, the heat pumps should be operated in a way that maximises use of PV-generated electricity within the neighbourhood itself, and minimises electricity load peaks. On the other hand, it should be possible for SmartGrid connectivity to provide optimal flexibility of neighbourhood heat pump operation.

In the project, enisyst is responsible for the detailed monitoring and control the heating grid and its distributed heat pumps. Using cloud-based control technology, enisyst also provides project partners with an operations management and data exchange platform. Together with these partners, enisyst is developing interfaces for power grid-optimised control of the distributed systems.

Duration: 4 years
Supported by: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi)

Smart2Charge Research Project

Electric mobility for rural areas

How can electric vehicle charging infrastructure in rural areas be set up in a future-facing manner and integrated into the existing electricity grid? This was the question posed for scientific analysis by Smart2Charge, the joint research project by enisyst and HFT Stuttgart in the municipality of Wüstenrot.

Wüstenrot had already begun its path to becoming a plus-energy municipality. Now, as it seeks to consistently develop its energy efficiency, the municipality wishes to make rapid progress in the expansion of electric mobility. Our goal is to adopt a pioneering role in this charging infrastructure development.

Challenges of rapidly increasing electrification of individual transport:

• Development of charging infrastructure
• Integration into existing power grid

Smart2Charge addresses vital questions such as:

• Which measures are economically feasible in rural communities?
• How can e-charging stations be operated long-term at a high frequency and with acceptance by the population?

The citizens of Wüstenrot have a range of opportunities to become more involved in the advancement of their locale e.g. monitoring charging processes via app and flexibly registering needs.

New opportunities for municipalities:

• Integration of charging infrastructure into building, neighbourhood and communal energy control technologies, as well as into grid control technology that governs municipal utilities.
• Increased energy system efficiency via intelligent networking of storage capacities of vehicles and additional local electricity storage systems.

Basis:

Intelligent IT infrastructure for predictive dis/charging process control, featuring bidirectional use of vehicle batteries and their networking with energy management systems at building and area power grid level.

In cooperation with Mitsubishi, an interface to the manufacturer’s existing energy management system is being developed and implemented. Our team welcomes the following partners to the project:

The municipality of Wüstenrot, Mitsubishi Motors Deutschland Automobile GmbH, HFT Stuttgart, Oxygen Technologies GmbH, and Castellan AG. The association, Elektromobilität Heilbronn-Franken is also involved as an associated partner.

Duration: December 2019 to November 2022

REWARDHeat research project

As part of H2020 REWARDHeat, the European project that began in October 2019, innovative low-temperature district heating networks will be installed in eight European cities over the next four years by 28 project partners.

Due to their low temperature level, energy sources with lower temperatures can also be fed into envisaged district heating networks (from 10-60°C), significantly increasing the number of usable energy sources.

As a result, previously unusable waste heat sources can also be efficiently integrated e.g. from cooling processes or waste water pipes. Thus, these innovative district heating systems offer cost-effective routes to significantly reducing CO2 emissions and rendering waste heat usable.

The experts involved in this project are working not only on the details of technical implementation but also developing business models for energy suppliers adapting to this new technology.

Within the project, enisyst is developing a cost-efficient intelligent control system for the decentralised feeding of waste heat into heating grids. To provide initial examples of this control system in action, it will be integrated into two of the planned demonstration networks.

Further information can be found here: 
Website RewardHeat
Video #REWARDHeat

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 857811.

NEQModPlus research project

Development of low-energy neighbourhoods

NEQModPlus is funded by BMWi as part of the 6th Energy Research Programme in the ‘Energy Efficient City’ research area. The project name is an abbreviated version of ‘Development of Methodological Approaches, Modelling Tools and Implementation Models (Mod) for Lowest Energy Neighbourhoods (NEQ)’.

The objective of this research project is to further develop processes and instruments to support the planning, decision-making and implementation processes of ultra-low-energy neighbourhoods or energy-neutral neighbourhoods – in refurbishment, existing buildings and new concepts (with special consideration of buildings and transport).

The project will produce a consistent, easy-to-use methodology for stakeholders, as well as further develop existing tools for the step-by-step development, implementation and efficient operation of ultra-low-energy neighbourhoods in accordance with objectives.

enisyst is the project partner responsible for the development and implementation of intelligent neighbourhood management concepts for the efficient operation of distributed energy systems.

Client: German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).
Duration: Dec. 2018 to Nov. 2021

LIFE4HeatRecovery research project

Traditional third generation heat networks distribute energy at a high temperature level to individual customers from a heat generation plant – whereas fourth generation heat networks integrate waste heat from multiple hot heat sources (some renewable).

LIFE4HeatRecovery goes one step further, developing a new generation of smart district heating networks that can efficiently integrate a large number of low temperature heat sources (10-40°C) available to the urban area.

The Life4HeatRecovery project has received funding from the EU’s LIFE programme under the contract number LIFE17 CCM/IT/000085.

SIM4Blocks research project

This EU Horizon 2020 project features the investigation into and real project implementation and testing of possibilities for reducing electricity grid loads at an urban level.
Reduction is achieved via intelligent consumption adjustment and distributed demand side management.
In this project, enisyst leads the work package for implementing control solutions in pilot projects spread across Switzerland, Spain and Germany. For the German pilot project, which features a range of test applications, enisyst develops and implements the necessary control technology.

More information (including a project video) can be found at www.sim4blocks.eu.com

Neckar-Alb Virtual Power Plant Project

In this project, enisyst stands as a main development partner. Our team is providing the necessary intelligent control system to a Reutlingen University-based, local area network demonstration model. 

In this test facility, a CHP unit, PV system, thermal chiller, heat pumps, electricity storage units and e-charging columns work intelligently together via predictive load and storage management.

enisyst is responsible for the system’s local intelligence, and developing and installing the demonstration model’s necessary control units.

More info at www.virtuelles-kraftwerk-neckar-alb.de