Hospitals have a high energy consumption. Scientists now plan to investigate all the various areas in a hospital and develop an innovative approach for achieving energy savings. This will be done as part of the "Hospital plus" research project which is being supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology with funding of 1.85 million euros over four years.  more...

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has added the "electricity storage facilities" research focus to the research areas that it supports. One of the first projects to be funded is the development and construction of an "adiabatic compressed air energy storage facility". Construction of the first large-scale demonstration plant is to start in 2013.  more...

A solar energy system with around 130 square metres of collector surface area has been providing heat for a youth hostel for twelve years already, and a large solar energy system in Heilbronn has been supporting the local heating network in a housing estate for the last eight years. Both of these systems were installed as part of the Solarthermie-2000 research programme and provided the planning basis for the construction of large solar energy systems. These two projects have been subject to ongoing monitoring and measurement. ZfS-Energietechnik GmbH has now presented the results of this long-term experience in two short reports.  more...

Operation Diagnostics taps into new potential for savings in the operation of building services equipment. It was used in the Gebhard Müller School in Biberach, Germany, to support evaluation of the building concept on the basis of measurements.  more...

The team from the Technical University of Darmstadt took first place at the Solar Decathlon 2009 international competition to find the most attractive and energy-efficient building. The team was thus able to defend the title it had won in 2007. The competition to find the best solar house is organised by the US Department of Energy and takes place on National Mall in Washington, D.C.  more...

The grid connection of Germany's first commercial offshore wind farm,
"BARD 1", is now complete. With a length of 200 kilometres, "BorWin alpha" is the world's longest cable ever laid for the connection of an offshore wind farm to the electricity grid. Following on from alpha ventus, this is the second grid connection that the grid operator transpower has installed this year. Because of the distance involved, special high-voltage direct current transmission with a transmission capacity of 400 megawatts has been used. Trial operation is now gradually getting underway.  more...

In local heating networks, a large number of consumers obtain heating coverage and hot water supply from a single source. An operator arranges fuel purchasing, fault-free operation and maintenance of the heating centre. The grouping together of users as one large consumer and the professional operational management bring technical and economical advantages which are more important than the extra user comfort gained.  more...

Heat recovery from exhaust gases and flameless combustion – this is the magic formula in many high-temperature processes in order to combine optimal fuel usage with low nitrogen oxide emissions. With a new recuperator burner, this technology now also offers advantages in the lower range of outputs under 100 kW. The exhaust gas losses have been almost halved compared to conventional recuperator burners. A number of burners of this type have been undergoing tests since early in 2009 in heat-treatment equipment for screws.  more...

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has published a strategy paper entitled "Eckpunkte und Leitlinien zur Weiterentwicklung der Energieforschungspolitik der Bundesregierung (Cornerstones and guidelines for the continued development of the German federal government's energy research policy)". The detailed analyses and suggestions were developed as a result of the cooperation between a number of institutes in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres as part of a broadly based consultation process.  more...

In the process industry, thermal energy storage enables flexible use of waste heat, and optimised capacity utilisation of components, by compensating for temporal fluctuations in demand. In the future, new types of latent heat storage could increase the energy efficiency of processes which require process steam.  more...

According to the plans of the European Union, renewable energy sources as a whole should reach 20 % Europe-wide by 2020. This requires adjustments to electricity grids, the power plant mix, and energy management, as wind turbines do not produce in a demand-oriented manner, but in a weather-dependent manner.  more...

A pilot project supported by the EU, the Intelligent Energy - Europe programme, aims to speed up the market breakthrough of high-efficiency heating pumps, which can save 60% or more on energy consumption compared to conventional pumps. The goal is to alter the market such that the new technology becomes standard and attains a price level similar to that of conventional pumps. The cooperative procurement approach was tried out across national boundaries in nine European countries.  more...

Small vans for deliveries in cities are always parked at night at the same place at defined times. If they have an electrical drive, they can then store electricity from renewable energy sources and contribute to buffering of the electricity grid. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment plans to support the development of just such an electric vehicle by an Osnabrück-based automobile manufacturer to the tune of 9.5 million euros.  more...

The region between the Swabian and Franconian mountains and the Northern Alps, also known as the South German Molasse Basin, has large geothermal resources. Hot water at depths of 1,500 to 5,000 m has given rise to health resorts with thermal baths over the last few decades. In recent years, some communities have also begun to integrate geothermal energy into their local district heating systems.  more...

One of the focuses of current research is the question of how to improve the indoor environment in buildings using latent heat storage materials. These materials are already finding increasing use in actual building projects. A symposium in Karlsruhe will present current developments in research and showcase various PCM (phase change material) systems and their operating principles.  more...