Energy-efficient development of the Lichtwiese Campus through intelligent system networking

We are working on a holistic concept for efficient energy supply "post2030" for the Lichtwiese campus. In the interdisciplinary EnEff:Stadt Campus Lichtwiese project, both the electrical energy supply and the heating and cooling requirements of the university are being considered. Comprehensive monitoring of the energy flows on campus forms the basis for a fundamental modernization strategy.

Project description

Within the first project phase until 2018, significant potentials for increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy demand were evaluated. The measures considered here were evaluated with regard to their real structural and energy-related developments. On the basis of various scenarios, it was determined which future developments will arise for the tasks of the electrical network at the Lichtwiese campus and what effects these will have on network operation. For a number of reasons, the campus is particularly suitable as a study object:

  • Entity under property and planning law
  • Delimited location or balance area
  • High variety of uses (offices, laboratories, lecture halls, libraries, workshops, sports facilities, etc.)
  • Different building age classes and forms (many large buildings of the 1960s and 1970s) years
  • Technical building equipment from the original state
  • Own power generation and grids available

Subprojects of phase II

From concept to realization: construction measures

Two implementation measures serve as an example for the energy transition on a district level: On the one hand, the efficiency of the heat supply is to be increased by integrating the waste heat from the university's own high-performance computer into the district heating. On the other hand, it will be shown how the efficiency of heat transfer can be improved by installing surface heating in institute buildings with poor thermal envelopes.

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Digital Twin of Campus Lichtwiese

The optimization of multimodal energy systems is complex due to the large number of variables and therefore requires a high degree of data transparency and digitization to map the real system. In this subproject a comprehensive energy monitoring system for the energy system "Campus Lichtwiese" will be installed and a digital twin of the energy system will be developed.

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Fourth generation district heating

To increase the efficiency of the heat supply, the temperature reduction in a district heating system is an important topic of research. Campus Lichtwiese serves as an example of how low temperatures can be achieved not only in new district heating networks, but also in existing networks.

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Power Quality Monitoring within the campus grid

Renewable energy systems and equipment with improved energy efficiency generally often make use of the possibilities offered by modern power electronics. At the same time, power electronic equipment behaves significantly differently from conventional equipment. One variable that is influenced by this is the voltage quality, which will be investigated more closely within the project at the Lichtwiese Campus.

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Energy concept post 2030

In the energy concept post 2030, the results of EnEff:Stadt Campus Lichtwiese are summarized in a proposal for the future energy supply of the TU Darmstadt, with which the self-defined reduction targets for energy demand and CO2 emissions can be realized by 2050. To achieve this, the current fossil heat supply must be converted gradually to renewable energies.

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Phase I (Jan 2016 – Dec 2018)

Results of Phase I

The recommendations for action of the first phase of the project are summarized in a brochure. The focus was on the development of renovation strategies for the existing building stock, thermal grids, modeling of the energy supply, potentials of the use of photovoltaics, integration of e-mobility and the impact of the use of heat pumps on the electrical grid.

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Picture: EnEff Campus

The team

In the EnEff Campus project, scientists from the fields of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, architecture and computer science conduct interdisciplinary research on the energy turnaround in the area.

Contacts