In this blog post, we would like to introduce you to the research project ‘#EEG++’ as part of the ‘FFG Technologies and Innovations for the Climate Neutral City’ programme.
What is #EEG++?
At Reintalstraße 52 in Hart bei Graz, 6 semi-detached houses and 8 detached houses are being built on a slope in two construction phases. The homes will be supplied with heating and cooling by two central heat pumps. These are preferably powered by the residents‘ own PV electricity. The green electricity generated via a central PV system – in combination with a battery storage system and an energy community – is intended to cover as much of the residents‘ own electricity needs as possible throughout the year. Another special feature of the new residential complex is the innovative energy system components, which help residents to take advantage of renewable energy and use it efficiently.
What is new?
The novelty of the project lies particularly in the integrated consideration of the complexity of modern real estate projects in the planning or construction phase when implementing plus-energy communities for the entire range of energy requirements of the buildings – heating, cooling, electricity and e-mobility – and to develop, implement and monitor an economically viable and user-oriented model for the implementation of neighbourhoods with a plus-energy character with the help of the energy community model and IoT-based self-consumption optimisation.
What are the goals?
The aim of the #EEG++ research project is to optimise the generation and consumption of energy so that residents can save even more costs and further reduce CO2 consumption. Within 24 months, Austria’s first plus-energy neighbourhood will be implemented in conjunction with the market model of the energy community.
To achieve this goal, the following sub-goals are being pursued in the project:
- Equipping the Hart bei Graz neighbourhood with additional innovative energy system components that go beyond the legal minimum
- Implementation of IoT components to network the technical systems for consumption optimisation
- Demonstration of a self-consumption-optimised neighbourhood over a monitoring phase of 6-12 months
- User integration and support for the various stakeholders in the project
What are the benefits for users?
The 2022 energy crisis has made everyone in Europe aware of the negative impact that dependence on fossil fuels from abroad can have on the economy and on individual households. Against this backdrop, it is necessary to drastically reduce this dependency by accelerating the expansion of renewable energy. In particular, the technical involvement of users, e.g. through the possibility of expressing their own preferences – for example by anonymously specifying their showering behaviour – makes it possible both to build trust in such a complex project and to provide the necessary threshold values for optimisation (e.g. the hot water tank must always be full at 7 a.m.).
Who is the #EEG++ consortium?
Arteria Technologies GmbH is a technology company specialising in the modelling, simulation and optimisation of decentralised energy systems. In addition to planning software for energy communities, the company also develops software for optimising heating networks.
ed-energiedigital GmbH is responsible for the IoT development for energy communities; in this project specifically for the further development of existing IoT components (smart meter reader, GreenCharge module) and for the development of new components such as the control components for charging columns and battery storage or the integration of the GreenCharge module into PINK GmbH’s Dynastrat storage system.
realitylab is represented in the project as a research partner for the sub-area of user integration and socio-scientific-legal aspects in relation to energy communities and will take over the entire stakeholder integration phase. realitylab has a great deal of experience in supporting stakeholder processes as part of research projects such as the Wärmepioniere or other commoning projects.
PINK GmbH, based in Langenwang, has been involved in the development and production of water heaters and storage tanks for over 30 years. Tank and storage technology has been the core area of the company since its foundation and continues to be the focus of its own production. PINK GmbH has also been offering solar technology and solar energy storage tanks for around 20 years.
Waldheimat Consulting und Projektentwicklung GmbH is a property developer based in Graz with extensive experience in the planning, construction, refurbishment and conversion of residential buildings, public buildings and commercial properties. In the project in Reintalstraße in Hart bei Graz, Waldheimat Consulting und Projektentwicklung GmbH carried out the planning and coordinated the construction activities for the client CEAS GmbH.
CEAS GmbH is building a residential estate in Hart bei Graz with 12 buildings containing 24 residential units. The company sees itself as an innovative property developer that focuses on sustainability, particularly in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energies. This is being realised in the Hart district primarily with a central heat pump and a photovoltaic system.
In this entire housing estate, a PV system is used to generate electrical energy from solar power, which is used to operate a heat pump and supply the residents with electricity. We use our smart meter readers to read the customer interface of the installed smart meters from Energienetze Steiermark and transfer the current consumption data to our intelligent GreenCharge control system. This then controls the hot water generation and the battery so that they are activated when local solar power is available wherever possible. This enables us to achieve a high self-consumption rate and a high degree of self-sufficiency, and we recently organised a meeting on site with the current and future residents to give them an insight ‘behind the scenes’.
⚡ This is what the energy future looks like! ⚡
