News and Events

SunHorizon @ Pv magazine

 SunHorizon @ Pv magazine 150 150 SunHorizon Project

Pv magazine has published an article about solar thermal panel for large-scale applications.

SunHorizon uses TVP Solar technology in its project. In particular, it uses TVP Solar panel in Technology Packages 1, 3, and 5. Click here if you want more information on them.

The TVP Solar panel has an absorption surface of 1.96 m2 and a weight of 27 kg per square meter. It could be a real booster for thermal power, combining it with photovoltaics and heat pumps to provide more power per square meter, particularly for low-temperature applications such as district heating.

Are you curious? Read the article for more information and to discover the potential of the application of this panel here.

Modern full black solar panels on the brown ceramic tiles roof of a house.

D7.7 – Report on standardization and non-technical barriers

 D7.7 – Report on standardization and non-technical barriers 150 150 SunHorizon Project

The SunHorizon project combines heat pump technologies with solar appliances in different technology packages. The goal is to unlock the potential for a mass-produced, easy-to-use and cost-effective custom solution for heating and cooling (H&C).

The Technology Packages (TPs) will be demonstrated in four geographical areas in 6 demo sites across Europe.

Deliverable 7.7 is confidential. It analyses people’s perceptions of heat pump and solar thermal integration as potential turnkey technologies of the new H&C sector and the consequent aspects that may limit the market entry of these technologies and how to overcome these possible barriers. In particular, these aspects are explored by the SunHorizon six technology providers, and from the internal and external points of view of the project.

The deliverable gathered information using a four-step approach:

  • A literature review
  • A review of previously submitted useful project deliverables
  • A survey of the six projects’ technology providers
  • A second survey of other consortium partners and external stakeholders

Most of the respondents to the second survey were not involved in the SunHorizon project, people with many years of experience and working in the energy consulting or equipment manufacturing sector.

Moreover, the main families of recognized standards for SunHorizon component technologies appear to be part of the groups of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the European Standard (EN). Regarding solar collectors and heat pumps, the main certification schemes are Solar and Heatpump KeyMark, while on the labeling side there are EU Ecolabel, Solergy label and A + label package.

Finally, the Report identified the main non-technical factors that can limit the entry of TPs into the market and how these limitations could be overcome through specific strategies.

Please, can find the other deliverables in the website section dedicated to them here.

SunHorizon demo campaign ongoing in Riga

 SunHorizon demo campaign ongoing in Riga 150 150 SunHorizon Project
The SunHorizon technology package #2 in Riga, Latvia was successfully deployed and it is already providing significant benefits!

Since December 2021, SunHorizon technology package #2 has been operating in Imanta demo site. The demonstration in the single-family residential house in Imanta is complemented by the nearby site in Sunīši. Here the full commissioning was completed in April 2022. Both sites were equipped with the same technology package, but they have diverse energy consumption patterns and building characteristics. This allows a more detailed comparison in the same geographical conditions. Being located in Riga (Latvia), both houses have the coldest weather conditions compared to other SunHorizon pilot sites.

The Latvian demo sites were upgraded with a heat pump from Boostheat coupled with photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT) from DualSun and stratified thermal storage from Ratiotherm. Ratiotherm and Cartif develop advanced control solutions to enable an efficient integrated operation of the whole SunHorizon technology package #2. A dedicated mobile app developed by CheckWatt aims to acquire end-user feedback.

Thanks to the gas-driven thermal compression heat pump and PVT panels, the heat production is now much more efficient compared to the conventional gas boiler before the project. Moreover, the PVT panels can now cover the annual electricity demand, employing the Latvian net metering system. In the first five months of 2022, each site produced almost 4 MWh of electricity.

During the demo deployment phase, a number of challenges were encountered. A tight collaboration among the technology providers and the demo manager, Riga Technical University, allows to successfully solve the difficulties.

Just to mention a few examples of the technical tasks, they involved:

  • Integration of SunHorizon technology package in the existing houses. Compared to the previously used gas boilers, the large storage tanks need more space. Hence, in Imanta has been used the existing garage, whereas in Sunīši a dedicated building annex was constructed next to the garage;
  • To achieve optimal orientation of the PVT panels, in Imanta they were placed on ground, whereas in Sunīši on the roof;
  • To transfer heat & electricity from the technologies to the house and to supply gas for the heat pump, 120m of buried piping were installed. Since in Sunīši the gas-based equipment was placed in a different building than the old boiler, a separate gas supply line was constructed. It required a lengthy permitting process involving the municipality and the gas distribution system operator;
  • The detailed design and planning stage facilitated the integration of the controls and communication among the various equipment from different providers. This took place during the first years of the project.

Only during the deployment phase the local installers were able to gain their first hands-on experience with the specific technologies. Thanks to the support of SunHorizon technical partners, the integration has been mostly completed with a few last steps pending to complete the full integration and data flows this summer.

Despite the challenges, the SunHorizon technology package #2 has been successfully deployed and it is already providing significant benefits. Especially for the end-users in the light of the recent surge of energy prices. The gas consumption has now decreased and all the electricity can be produced onsite, which results in energy bills reduction for both demo sites in Riga.

During the upcoming months, we will continue close monitoring of the technologies and collecting the real-world data from demo sites to perform an in-depth energy assessment towards the end of the project.

Stay tuned for our next updates!

Imanta PVT panels
Sunisi PVT installation on the boiler room
Sunisi Boiler room
Sunisi Boiler room
Sunisi Boiler room controller

SunHorizon @ EnTReC: Energy Days 2022

 SunHorizon @ EnTReC: Energy Days 2022 150 150 SunHorizon Project

The Universitatea Tehnica of Cluj-Napoca (TUCN) organised the “EnTReC: Energy Days 2022“: 3 days dedicated to showcase the latest technologies in renewable sources. The event, held at the University from the 25th to the 27th of May 2022, aimed to be a dissemination event for the ongoing projects of the larger EnTReC.

The SUNHORIZON Project has been presented during the first day “Advanced Renewable Energy technology”, dedicated to show building integrated RES solutions cased in the context of ongoing EnTReC projects meant to increase the energy efficiency of TUCN campus buildings. During this presentation, our partner presented all the technologies developed by the SUNHORIZON project partners and the demonstration pilot site that will be implemented at the University.

Finally, the Q&A session was liveable. Indeed, the audience was really active and asked questions regarding the technologies that will be deployed at the site, such as the presence of PV production, how the solar thermal unit and the heat pump will be interconnected and so on.

The presentation of the event is downloadable here.

Below you can find some photos taken during the presentation at the event.

Our partner TUCN presenting the SunHorizon project

SunHorizon @ CLIMA 2022

 SunHorizon @ CLIMA 2022 150 150 SunHorizon Project
“SunHorizon advanced control system and proactive maintenance tool” has been published on the CLIMA 2022 website.

Currently in the European Union, buildings represent a large percentage of the energy consumption. Increasing the introduction of renewable energy sources is becoming necessary to achieve an effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. SunHorizon project demonstrates the potential of combining solar appliances and heat pumps in buildings for meeting heating and cooling demands in Europe.

The energy systems are managed by an advanced Python-based control system. Using the forecast of the demand and occupancy of the building, a predictive controller calculates the optimal exploitation of resources and storage use. This is useful to maximize the renewable energy use and cost performance. Furthermore, the control system operates in combination with a proactive maintenance tool that includes fault detection and maintenance surveillance capabilities. This tool is based on the Reliability-Centred Maintenance strategy, which focuses on understanding the equipment failure modes, applying all the different possible maintenance strategies and considering consequences and cost of failures. To achieve this goal, several key performance indicators (KPIs) are defined, calculated in real-time operation and compared with simulation data to detect faults. When any failure is obtained, the system triggers specific alarms via web and email, hence notifying house operators or final users. KPIs are also evaluated to calculate their remaining useful life and therefore predict future faults.

The solution above is applied in a building in Riga, Latvia and the methodology beneath these tools is explained in this paper. The use of prediction for control and maintenance will allow the system to avoid wasting energy, increase self-consumption as well as to save costs on the energy bills.

The REHVA World Congress CLIMA is the leading international scientific congress in the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).

From now to 2030 the world of HVAC will change radically. Fuelled by irreversible influences, the current demands on climate installations will change completely. To meet global climate goals and pursue the EU Green Deal, the regulatory environment on building performance, decarbonisation and the energy transition will change in 2022 within the ‘EU Fit for 55 package’, while the Renovation wave strategy aims at the deep energy renovation of up to 35 million buildings by 2030.

CLIMA 2022 has been focused on 5 themes related to this massive transformation that is on the horizon: Energy, Circularity, Digitalization, Health & Comfort and Learning & Education.

The publication is available here.

SunHorizon @ EnTReC Energy Days 2022

 SunHorizon @ EnTReC Energy Days 2022 150 150 SunHorizon Project

The Universitatea Tehnica of Cluj-Napoca (TUCN) is organising the “EnTReC: Energy Days 2022”: 3 days dedicated to showcase the latest technologies in renewable sources. The event will be from the 25th to the 27th of May 2022 and it will be mostly onsite with some presentation that will be in a hybrid form (onsite + online).

Between these presentations the TUCN plan also to show the SUNHORIZON project and the pilot site that will be implemented at the Cluj-Napoca University.

The three days are divided as following:

  • Day 1: Advanced Renewable Energy technology. It is dedicated to show building integrated RES solutions cased in the context of ongoing EnTReC projects meant to increase the energy efficiency of TUCN campus buildings
  • Day 2: Launch of the project Doitsmarter
  • Day 3: Actions to support SMEs in implementation of energy efficiency projects. Representatives from central and local government, professional association, representatives from SMEs and academia will discuss about mechanisms, tools and actions which can support SMEs towards the implementation of energy efficiency projects.

More information are available here.

SunHorizon @ Mostra Convegno Expocomfort 2022

 SunHorizon @ Mostra Convegno Expocomfort 2022 150 150 SunHorizon Project

Mostra Convegno Expocomfort 2022 offers a unique opportunity for companies in the HVAC + R, renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors to exchange their knowledge, present their products and reveal the latest innovations in the sector.

The Convention was initially meant to take place in March and was later rescheduled to June 28-July 1.

Participating in MCE means launching your own products and services on a global scale, building strategic relationships and alliances with those who design, install and build systems and systems for the living comfort of intelligent buildings in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors.

We will be present at MCE 2022 with a booth in the centre of the Heat Pump Hall (No.S24).

More information are available here.

SunHorizon @ DecarbCities

 SunHorizon @ DecarbCities 150 150 SunHorizon Project

SunHorizon participated at the 3rd edition of DecarbCities, hosted by the City of Vienna (MuseumsQuartier) on the 11st and 12nd of May 2022.

The urgency of the EU’s net zero emissions targets fits into the recent energy crisis in Europe and set out a clear call to accelerate the heat transition towards sustainable low-carbon supply. In this context, the electrification of heat, through technologies such as heat pumps and other convenient solutions (solar thermal, geothermal, etc), are becoming more and more favorable.

The aim of the Conference was to fuel the ongoing debate on national and regional energy and climate plans as well as renovation strategies, as mandated by the European legislation on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and building efficiency. It brought together industry, government, academia, legislative bodies and leaders from across the EU.

More than 200 participants joined the diverse program of panel sessions and expert interventions covering technical and organizational solutions from and for cities. The various panels and discussions show a breadth of approaches to replace existing fossil fuel-based combustion technologies with heating systems, that use renewable energies. 

A special focus was given to solutions for existing buildings in the urban context, such as multi-family homes and renovation processes, as well as the need for competence in the value chain and optimized customer journey.
SunHorizon and REWARDHeat, together with other projects, participated at the World Cafè on the second day. It consisted in a roundtable discussions on existing tools and best practices for local players to design and roll out their strategy.

As part of the REWARDHeat project, the development of business models and financial schemes was presented, with a focus on the Bankability of investments.

After a brief introduction of the project, the speakers presented the work carried out within Deliverable 3.3 – Bankability for REWARDHeat demonstrators. The main bankability criteria were briefly presented, before moving on to the due diligence package for REWARDHeat Demonstrators. Indeed, each demosite received a list of questions (divided into 6 categories) that potential investors could ask to assess the risks and opportunities associated with the project to be supported. These questions constitute a check list to qualitatively assess the bankability of the proposed projects, a sort of specific due diligence package for the aspects of district heating, to be applied in parallel with the conventional technical-financial checks.
RINA has assessed the scalability and replicability of the three most common types of investment in LTDHC projects based on the results of the analysis carried out on bankability and on the assumptions and financial support available at national level:

  • Greenfield LTDH projects: involve the construction of a new LTDH network based on the exploitation of a renewable or excess heat source, as in the case of the REWARDHeat demonstrators in Milan (Balilla and Gadio), Helsingborg and Mölndal.
  • Retrofitting of the existing DH to LTDH: involves the adoption of actions for the energy transition of existing networks, as in the REWARDHeat demonstrators in Albertslund and Topusko or the optimization of the existing DHN through innovative devices such as in the REWARDHeat demonstrators in Mijnwater and Toulon.
  • Investments in district cooling: although not fully represented among the REWARDHeat demonstrators, would constitute a relevant solution for the study of bankability, replicability and scalability.

During the presentation the opportunities for the first two types of LTDHN were discussed.

As regards the SunHorizon project, after a brief introduction to the project, the three demo sites of Madrid and Sant Cugat del Vallès (in Spain), and Riga (Latvia) were presented in detail.

These three demo sites have been chosen according to the aim of the Conference and to showcase three different types of buildings to incentivize the replicability of the solutions presented. The various photos of the projects were useful to describe more specifically which technology packages have been implemented. In addition, the risks and the technical and social difficulties encountered during the implementation of the project were exposed for each demo site. In this sense, some common difficulties are the fact that the technologies are very little known and the need for more space.
As for Sant Cugat, the use of the SunHorizon App and the activities carried out within the Center Cultural Mirasol were also explained.

„Cities are not part of the problem but part of the solution. Vienna is heating up, so there is a need for urgent actions, as we want to reach climate neutrality in all sectors by 2040“, stated Jürgen Czernohorszky, Executive City Councilor for Climate, Environment, Democracy and Personnel, City of Vienna.
  
The DecarbCities Conference is jointly organized by the Energy Cities, European Heat Pump Association, City of Vienna, Urban Innovation Vienna and Wärmepumpe Austria.

Here you can find the REWARDHeat’s presentation.

Here you can find the SunHorizon’s presentation.

SunHorizon General Assembly M42

 SunHorizon General Assembly M42 150 150 SunHorizon Project
On the 23rd and 24th of March 2022, SunHorizon consortium met in a hybrid way, both in Sant Cugat Municipality and online, for the M42 General Assembly, kindly hosted by our partner Ajuntament de Sant Cugat in Spain.

On this occasion, the partners had the opportunity to present what has been implemented over the previous years of the project and what are the next steps to be taken. In particular, the Assembly has been divided as follows. The first day was dedicated to each of the Work Packages (WPs), with the exception of WP6, which presented the next day with each demo site. The latter provided an update on the status of the project and subsequent phases, including changes, risks and uncertainties (if any).

On the first day, each WP representative provided an update on the status of the WP and deliverables, as well as the next steps. In particular, more emphasis was placed on the SunHorizon control platform to be integrated into the demos, in the feasibility studies and business models, and on the presentation and interaction of simulation tools. For the latter topic, a workshop was organised for the demo leader on site and online. The results of the first day are encouraging. Indeed, three new deliverables were presented from September, and the management structure of the demonstration sites has been updated. The first day ended with a guided tour of the beautiful monastery of Sant Cugat del Valles.

The second day was dedicated to WP6 and demonstration sites. As demonstration sites were affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, particular attention was paid to them and their upcoming technical activities. The meeting ended with a visit to the demonstration site of Sant Cugat in Mirasol.

Below you can find some photos of the General Assembly M42.

Workshop on the 1st day
Hybrid mode
Demo site visit
Demo site visit

SunHorizon @ CLIMA2022

 SunHorizon @ CLIMA2022 150 150 SunHorizon Project

The REHVA World Congress CLIMA is the leading international scientific congress in the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).

From now to 2030 the world of HVAC will change radically. Fuelled by irreversible influences, the current demands on climate installations will change completely. To meet global climate goals and pursue the EU Green Deal, the regulatory environment on building performance, decarbonisation and the energy transition will change in 2022 within the ‘EU Fit for 55 package’, while the Renovation wave strategy aims at the deep energy renovation of up to 35 million buildings by 2030.

CLIMA 2022 will focus on 5 themes related to this massive transformation that is on the horizon: Energy, Circularity, Digitalization, Health & Comfort and Learning & Education. CLIMA 2022 will have its EYE ON 2030.

SunHorizon will participate at the CLIMA 2022 edition with a poster and an online presentation of its advanced control system and proactive maintenance tool.

We will held an oral presentation on CLIMA 2022 session MD01, on the 23rd of May 2022 from 4:15 to 5:45 pm.

Register and program here.

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