Energy-efficient neighborhood redevelopment for affordable housing

In the “smart-smart neighborhood” project, 16 companies, four research institutions and an association have worked together, with the scientific support of Fraunhofer, on the future of innovative measures. related to energy in the past few years. Covering everything from the county’s digitized planning process and innovative thermal and electrical storage systems to intelligent control and operation management solutions, the project aims to ensure that facilities The county’s existing facilities are poised for an energy transition—and tenants benefit from a lower cost of living as a result.

The cost of electricity, gas and other fossil fuels has increased dramatically in recent months. Not only since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and related sanctions but power supply in Germany and Europe have faced great challenges. Buildings play an important role in the overall social context: Potential for energy saving up to 40%, depending on the extent and quality of the renovation.

Make existing counties energy efficient, for the benefit of the environment and society

In that context, smart – smart residential area project was launched in 2019 with the vision of systematically creating value through renovation work in existing residential properties. It is part of a federal funding program for the Wachstumskerne Regional Innovation Cores, forming a regional alliance of companies, universities of applied sciences and research institute in eastern Germany share a common technological background in their region and promote unique selling points in their areas of expertise. Until 2022, growth cores of this type received funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

In addition to the environmental aspects, cost effectiveness is an important criterion for the success of a smood project. By creating a carefully considered combination of creations energy supply and control technology with suitable integrated technologies in existing buildings, the ultimate goal of which is to reduce utility costs. The project aims to achieve this by allowing counties to cover the majority of their energy needs with their own supply and provide residents with electricity and heat at affordable prices.

Professor Peter Bretschneider said: “An important goal of the growth core in general is to combat what are known as discriminative effects, i.e. situations in which less well-off families are no longer available. afford to live in certain residential areas”. is both director of the Institute for Advanced Systems Technology (AST) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Optoelectronics, IOSB Image Exploitation and Systems Technology and science spokesperson for smood.

mood: Five joint research projects, many innovations

The partners participating in the technology platform come from the world of science, industry and associations and contribute expertise spanning the entire value chain, from surveying, blueprinting and redevelopment in buildings and districts to operations management. They are working together on many joint research projects: One of them, smoodPlan, involves county planning and analysis (on a digital basis) using tools like airplanes drones and thermal imaging cameras.

Meanwhile, innovative methods for heat source extraction and heat storage are at the heart of GeoHoP (which uses new drilling technology to install horizontal geothermal probes in the shape of a star) and GeoHeatStorage (provides cost-effective method of geothermal heat storage during summer and allows heat recovery via pumps in winter). For example, the joint research project EStorage, in which the Fraunhofer Institute of Ceramic Systems and Technology (IKTS) is leading, will provide a sustainable, safe and inexpensive sodium-nickel chloride battery for local storage of electricity obtained from photovoltaic systems. In the smoodACT project, the work of the participants involved the development, design and testing of energy management systems for buildings and sites.

“Through smood, we have managed to develop an all-inclusive system that marks an important step in the gradual removal of energy from smood,” said Dr. Kersten Roselt, business spokesman for smood. fossil fuel. “We’re starting with some amazing developments, such as drone-powered county planning, new eco-friendly electricity storage systems for counties, geothermal recovery and methods of storing heat under existing buildings, plus a low-cost, smart energy management system for counties.”

smoodACT: Intelligent control of energy flows

Fraunhofer IOSB-AST assumes the role of smoodACT subproject coordinator on the basis of many years of experience in energy management systems. One aspect of the work involves assessing energy flows in counties that have undergone energy-focused renovations and using algorithms to ensure that energy is available at points where it can be. used as efficiently as possible.

For example, it looks at whether electricity generated by a rooftop photovoltaic system on a sunny day but not immediately used should be fed into an energy storage system or used to charge an electric vehicle. or operate the heat pump. The data entered allows the energy management system to make automated decisions about how best to use available energy according to the current situation and demand. However, existing systems also need to be adapted to be more efficient and incorporate new components. By optimizing the system in this way, it is possible to operate the equipment in an efficient, eco-friendly approach using local resources. As Professor Bretschneider states, “Intelligent control systems alone can help buildings use about 30% more locally renewable energy.”

From lab to real life

After the alliance — launched in 2019 — ended its operational phase in December 2022, the project partners presented the results and solutions generated so far to the public. As of today, the entire smood concept is ready to undergo full real-time testing under laboratory conditions. The next steps are set to involve the launch of demonstration projects — in other words, realistic county models, which project participants discussed with private residential companies. and city. According to GS. Bretschneider, both the private sector and urban development agencies, expressed keen interest: “We believe we will see the first projects come online within the next four to five years. ” Private companies are even considering setting up their own energy companies, an approach that could help introduce fixed energy rates to future tenants.

The Open District Hub, also initiated by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and active in the same field, represents a model for testing laboratory-developed models in real-life situations. A non-profit association, it focuses on opening up success energy conversion and develop climate-neutral cities by harnessing synergies in counties—created when generating renewable energy or combining the electric, thermal, and mobility sectors, for example . To assess how innovative solution concepts are brought to life from models, the Open District Hub worked with reference districts that reflect the broad range of District types out there.

The innovative solutions developed by the smood consortium have attracted interest outside Thuringia (the federal state where the project is based) and even Germany in general, with inquiries regularly received from the United States. United States and Asia region. Professor Bretschneider added, “It is an honor to present smood within the framework of Expo 2020 Dubai.”