Our actions focus on the investigation and optimisation of the heat consumption of apartment buildings. The analysed demonstration buildings are located in the district “Leipzig West” and connected to the district heating grid of Stadtwerke Leipzig and their solar thermal system, which is also a part of the project SPARCS.

The optimization of the heat consumption includes the development of an application to visualize the heat consumption per apartment. In addition to consumption, this application should also contain comparison mechanisms for better understanding of consumption for the tenant, which should help tenants to save energy. Furthermore, the demonstration buildings will be equipped with smart devices, and meters to collect data and control the heating system. The buildings will digitally connected to each other in order to integrate the buildings into the positive energy community and digital platform and to demonstrate a dynamic energy system.

On the one hand, the dynamic energy system is to combine the information on building consumption with the CO²-free heat generation from Stadtwerke Leipzig and optimize the direct use of the heat generated by the solar thermal system. On the other hand, the system should optimize the building by controlling the heating system in the basement with the help of smart data from the building in real time in order to save energy on the one hand and to increase the well-being of the tenants on the other. In addition to the heat consumption and thermal optimization of the buildings, electricity consumer and our local regenerative power generation systems will also integrated in cooperation with Stadtwerke Leipzig to create a virtual power plant for carbon free energy supply.

To achieve this, we have evaluated and selected sensors and measurement technology that will be installed in the apartments and buildings in the coming months. We also analysed and selected data platforms that we would like to use for data collection and processing for the project. Smart controller will digitize the central heating systems in the basement and give us the opportunity to get real time data.

The concept for integrating consumption data and visualization in an app-based application has been completed. Now we are faced with the challenge of implementing this concept and application and we are looking forward to the vision becoming reality and being able to contribute a part of energy positive and carbon free district development.