The Smart Green Tower is being built in the city of Freiburg. The 51-metre-high building will provide living, residential and working space. Depending on the solar radiation, a building envelope made of photovoltaic modules generates more energy via the photovoltaic system than can be consumed directly. In order to utilise the surplus electricity, the designers are using a flexible internal energy storage system with lithium-ion batteries.  more...

The chemical industry is the second largest consumer of electricity within German industry. Using the example of energy-intensive chlorine-alkali electrolysis, scientists are now investigating to what extent this process can contribute to managing loads in the power grid. To achieve this the production needs to be adapted to the intermittent electricity supply.  more...

The Solar Decathlon student competition challenges the participating teams to develop completely solar-powered houses. More than 250 buildings have already been built in the 13 competitions that have taken place to date. A considerable amount of investigative spirit has gone into designing all of them, they are comparable and well documented. A freely accessible online database now provides a comprehensive overview and the framework for systematically evaluating the innovations and results.  more...

For heat pumps with geothermal heat collectors, unglazed solar collectors offer several advantages as a secondary heat source. The surface area requirement for laying geothermal heat collectors is reduced by up to 50 percent without resulting in depletion of the ground or critical freezing conditions. Researchers at the Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH) in Emmerthal closely investigated this together with partners in a research project. The simulation model developed is available for simulation software TRNSYS, information materials for simplified designing rules for planners will be published shortly.  more...

In the “OBSERW” research project researchers have developed an innovative above-ground storage tank built using a cost-saving segmental construction method. This required a complete overhaul of conventional storage constructions and building technology. Numerous technical issues were put to rest, such as the temperature-resistant sealing of segments.  more...

The same technology for decades keeping street lights illuminated has the potential to motivate power consumers and decentralised generators to adopt system-friendly behaviours. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) has investigated how dynamic power tariffs can be transmitted based on ripple control technology together with project partners. Investigations involved sending electricity market prices across the regional power grid using tariff switching times.  more...

In 2013, the City of Freiburg held a competition for the construction of a new central administrative facility, including town hall, to consolidate its various agencies spread across the municipal area. The objective being two-fold: to produce an outstanding architectural design and to maximise energy efficiency. Monitoring measures put into effect upon commissioning are intended to reveal whether operation of the new energy-plus building fulfils the promise evident at the planning stage.  more...

The closing event of the “ETA Factory” research project took place at TU Darmstadt on 11 April 2018. In the course of the project, a multidisciplinary research group was able to demonstrate the feasibility of energy savings of up to 40 percent in industrial production. The jointly planned research factory saw researchers optimise and network energy flows in production and within the building.  more...

Air-to-water heat pumps are providing increasingly more heat for new or refurbished single-family homes with low energy requirements. Compared with ground source heat pumps, they have significantly lower acquisition costs and can be easily integrated into low-temperature heating circuits. Scientists from research and industry want to increase the efficiency of the systems by, on the one hand, using a second heat source for the heat pump and, on the other hand, by reducing the heat demand by means of centrally controlled individual room and supply control systems.  more...

Scientists from industry, research and municipal companies have developed a management system as part of the “City as Storage System” project, bundling CHP plants, heat pumps, night storage heating infrastructures, PV batteries and other systems. Final field testing has shown how storage units, generators and loads in coordinated operation support the power grid as a virtual energy storage system.  more...