The website of the ENERGIEWENDEBAUEN research initiative is now online. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is bundling its long-standing subsidy measures entitled Energy Optimized Building, Energy-Efficient City and Energy-Efficient Heating and Cooling Networks, and also research on thermal energy storage and low-temperature solar thermal energy systems in the redesigned research initiative. They are being brought together under one umbrella initiative.  more...

In many office buildings, it is just as important to supply cooling in summer as heating in winter. Researchers have therefore developed salt hydrates that are suitable as storage material in chilled ceilings and centralised cold storage systems. The special advantage: Through a phase change, they store cooling energy with a high energy density and at the temperature level needed for air conditioning. This enables the required cooling to be provided very efficiently.  more...

On 11 March 2017, the new building by architect Daniel Libeskind was officially inaugurated in Lüneburg, Germany. The new main building of Leuphana University is open to students and culture fans now. The building is a flagship project for the transition towards a climate-neutral campus.  more...

The demand for large-scale solar thermal systems in district heating networks is increasing. Thereby the need for more powerful calculation programs is also increasing. Investors require predictions of the expected heat yield of solar thermal systems for their projects. A new calculation program shall now make that possible.  more...

When the sun shines, electrochromic windows keep the sun and heat out. However, until now, it has taken quite a long time for the windows to go completely dark. A new process lets windows react ten times faster.  more...

To heat an apartment building highly efficiently, using a solar power system or combined heat and power plant for example, you need large thermal storage tanks. They often do not fit through standard door openings in existing buildings. Scientists developed a compact storage tank consisting of multiple modules, which is not assembled fully until it reaches the boiler room. Heat losses are lower than with standard cascade models. Individual tanks no longer have to be connected.  more...

The first ENERGIEWENDEBAUEN conference took place in Berlin from 30 - 31 January, 2017. Some 350 participants from research, academia, architecture and planning offices, politics, energy suppliers, cities and municipalities as well as the real estate industry discussed how the energy supply of buildings and districts could be made future-proof. The aim of the German federal government is to create a climate-neutral building stock by 2050. This will not be easy to achieve.  more...

Ventilating non-residential buildings naturally but in a controlled manner saves primary energy and requires lower investment and operating costs than mechanical ventilation systems. Scientists from Stuttgart University have therefore developed a ventilation concept that ensures a good indoor environment and reduces the electricity consumption for operating the ventilation system.  more...

So far, the rate of refurbishment of the building stock has been around one per cent. How could the annual refurbishment rate be increased significantly – to about three per cent? Together with municipalities, researchers are looking into obstacles while developing refurbishment plans for differently structured model districts. As planning instruments, these plans are intended to help municipalities tap into previously unused refurbishment potentials.  more...

Uhland School in Stuttgart, which dates back to the 1950s, no longer accorded with today's structural and energetic standards. The renovation work is now almost complete and the City of Stuttgart is getting its first energy-plus school. A photovoltaic system on the roof and façade of the building covers the electricity requirement.  more...