Small, decentralised power plants are on the increase: as fuel cells, they are enormously energy efficient, provide heat and electrical energy whilst giving off harmless emissions. Scientists from the Research Centre Jülich and the metal group ThyssenKrupp VDM are now making a contribution towards competitive production costs.  more...

Its sounds ideal: a domestic energy plant that generates heat and electricity works almost without emissions and also exclusively utilises the sun and bioalcohol as renewable energy. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy systems ISE are working on such a plant. The heart of the system comprises a fuel cell combined with a newly developed reformer that generates the hydrogen required for the fuel cell from bioethanol.  more...

With the aim of achieving an optimum indoor environment and lowering operating costs in the long term, the performance of a so-called "operational optimisation with weather forecast control" system has been tested in three administrative buildings in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2007. The operation of the heating systems is optimised based on a thermodynamic computer model and local weather forecast data. The result: A tangible increase in comfort with simultaneous heat energy savings.  more...

The first measurement results confirm the efficient building concept for the Science College Overbach, which opened in June 2009: the data from 186 measurement points are continually captured via the building's services technology and enable continual monitoring, analysis and optimisation of the technical systems. In terms of the primary energy, the building is doing very well: it only consumed 83.4 kWh/m² p.a. in the first year. Not only do the figures add up, the students are also thrilled by their new school. Whereas 15% of the students used to opt for technology and 85% for the three foreign languages on offer, 60% of the students are now choosing a scientific subject in order to enable them to attend lessons in the attractive new building.  more...

An innovative energy management system will save as much energy as possible at the workplace taking individual user behaviour into account. That is the goal of the "pinta" research project. pinta stands for "Pervasive energy via internet-based telecommunication services". An association of industrial partners, the University of Kassel, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology and Kompetenznetzwerk Dezentrale Energietechnologien (Expert Network for Decentral Energy Technologies) will work on user-specific control of electrical devices and heating/cooling systems for office buildings over the next three years.  more...

In June 2010, the Solar Decathlon Europe took place for the first time in Madrid. The aim of the international competition is to develop and independently build experimental and cutting edge homes. In terms of their annual energy balance, the buildings must cover their energy needs by using solar power. During the eight-day competition, judging panels assessed the buildings in ten individual disciplines. In Madrid, the University of Virginia from the USA successfully beat off 16 competitors to achieve first place. Two university teams from Germany also made it onto the winning rostrum.  more...

Buildings of the future are secret power plants: they will generate more energy than they require. The surplus can be used for the residents? electromobility or is fed into the grid. This idea is now to be implemented as an energy-plus building with electromobility. The fully recyclable house designed by scientists from Dresden, Germany offers 142 m² of floor space and produces more energy than is required for a 4-person household and to run two electric cars and an electric scooter (with an annual mileage of 29,000 km). The team of researchers from Dresden University of Technology won second prize at the planning competition of the Zukunft Bau (Future of Construction) research initiative with this pilot project in February 2011.  more...

Vacuum insulation has grown from a research subject to a versatile construction material in the past ten years. This is also proven by the increasing number of national technical approvals for this type of insulating panel. At a conference by the German Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), researchers and manufacturers provide information on the development of the technology, its application in building practice and the future perspectives of this high-efficiency insulating material.  more...

What works for thermos flasks can also be used for thermally insulating buildings: insulation by means of a vacuum. For this purpose, panels made of compressed silica powder, which is an extremely porous material, are enclosed in a largely gas- and water vapour-tight envelope made of special high-barrier films or stainless steel and evacuated. The thermal insulation provided by these vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) is five to ten times that achieved by conventional insulation systems. This means that vacuum insulation requires a correspondingly lower thickness of insulation material to achieve the same insulating effect, which is highly beneficial when there are space constraints or high thermal insulation requirements.  more...

Last Saturday, the BAU 2011 trade fair came to a close in Munich. A clear focus this year was on concepts and solutions for sustainable and climate-neutral buildings. This applied both for the actual trade fair itself and the extensive support programme. For example, the EnOB research initiative presented new concepts, methods and model projects in a research symposium that was held on 18 and 19 January 2011.  more...