PROJECT NEWS

On Thursday 26th January from 11:OO to 12:30 (CET), SunHorizon with other three projects participated in the first BUILD UP organised and hosted webinar of 2023. The event took place under the January 2023 Topic of the Month “Renewable heating solutions for buildings”.

In a nutshell, the webinar presented two projects that explore technological solutions for heating/cooling coupled with renewables (SunHorizon and HAPPENING) and two projects that explore aspects of energy/thermal energy storage (MiniStor and ComBioTES).

The Q&A and discussion session provided an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and for the projects/speakers to explore interesting commonalities between the projects (e.g., their technologies, themes, challenges, outcomes, and more), lessons learned, and future exploitation opportunities for the outcomes of the projects.

After a brief introduction to BUILD UP by Aranzau Galán, Senior Researcher at Université Libre de Bruxelles and BUILD UP’s Editorial Board Member, she introduced the webinar topic and the agenda and moderated the entire event.

The first project which took the floor was SunHorizon, presented by the Project coordinator Serena Scotton (RINA Consulting SpA) and Andrea Gabaldon Moreno (CARTIF). Serena introduced the vision and objectives of the projects. Then, Andrea went into more detail – presenting data, problems, and lessons learnt – on the explanation of the technology packages developed by the project, in the demo cases of:

• Madrid (Spain) with the TP4: brine water heat pump assisted with improved PVT solar panels
• Sant Cugat (Spain) with the TP3: Hybrid adsorption-compression chiller with high-vacuum solar panels
• Riga – Sunisi and Riga – Imanta (Latvia) with the TP2: Innovative gas-fired heat pump with improved PVT solar panels

Andrea concluded her presentation by saying that in SunHorizon there has been collaboration, but it was difficult to coordinate and integrate inputs from various technology providers in all the demo sites. Together with that, there has been a low social acceptance of these unknown technologies. Furthermore, the inclusion of installers had language barriers (all studies were translated), and a shortage of installers and supplies. Collaboration is the key to the success of the project goals!

The other projects were the following: HAPPENING, presented by Jon Iturralde Iñarga (Tecnalia); MiniStor, showcased by Carlos Ochoa (International Energy Research, IERC) and Georgios Martinopoulos (The Center for Research & Technology, CERTH); finally, the fourth project ComBioTES explained by Arnaud Bruch, (The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, CEA) and Eleonora Alamaro (AMIRES).

Then, we had an active Q&A session with the project’s presenters.

Please, find the SunHorizon presentation here and the recording of the webinar on BUILD UP’s YouTube channel (here).

More information on the webinar is available here.

On Thursday 26th January from 11:OO to 12:30 (CET), BUILD UP welcomes the SunHorizon, HAPPENING, MiniStor and ComBioTES projects in the first BUILD UP organised and hosted webinar of 2023. The event is organised under the January 2023 Topic of the Month “Renewable heating solutions for buildings”.

In a nutshell, the webinar presents two projects that explore technological solutions for heating/cooling coupled with renewables (SunHorizon and HAPPENING) and two projects that explore aspects of energy/thermal energy storage (MiniStor and ComBioTES).

The Q&A and discussion session will provide an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and for the projects/speakers to explore interesting commonalities between the projects (e.g., their technologies, themes, challenges, outcomes, and more), lessons learned, and future exploitation opportunities for the outcomes of the projects.

Agenda

10:00 – 10:02: Brief introduction to BUILD UP

10:02 – 10:05: Introduction to webinar topic and agenda

10:05 – 10:20: Project #1: SunHorizon

• Serena Scotton, Rina consulting
• Andrea Gabaldon, Moreno CARTIF

Serena Scotton introduces the SunHorizon project, by providing some general information on its vision, lessons learnt and objectives of it. Then, Andrea Gabaldon showcases some preliminary results from D6.5 “Second Report on SunHorizon monitoring activities”, published in December 2022. In general, the D6.5 conducts a review of monitoring data production, collection and operation summary reports of the SunHorizon installed Technology Packages (TPs) in the cases of Madrid and Sant Cugat (Spain), and Riga – Sunisi and Riga – Imanta (Latvia). Plus, it reports monitoring and operation summaries. The document shows the operation summary of the demos over the past months (summer period) and detects ways to improve the data collection and control of the TPs. 

10:20 – 10:35: Project #2 HAPPENING

• Jon Iturralde Iñarga, Tecnalia

10:35 – 10:50: Project #3 MiniStor

• Carlos Ochoa, IERC
• Georgios Martinopoulos, CERTH

10:50 – 11:05: Project #4: ComBioTES

• Arnaud Bruch, CEA
• Eleonora Alamaro, AMIRES 

11:05 – 11:25: Q&A / Discussion with project presenters

Option for audience to post questions. This is followed by a discussion with questions by the Editorial Board and the projects.

11:25 – 11:30: Conclusions

Please, you can find more information and register here.

In spring 2021, TVP Solar SA (TVP) shipped to the Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) at the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES) its TVP High Vacuum Flat Plate for performance characterization in an outdoor sun test bench. The calibrated performance model was used afterwards for TP1 semi-virtual tests in T3.7 during the summer of 2021. 

This test is inserted in the framework of WP3 “Pillar 1: SunHorizon enabling technologies”. It aims to optimize and adapt the design of the enabling technologies on which the SunHorizon technology packages (TPs) are based. The specific objectives of WP3 are:

• To improve the energy performance of the enabling technologies through a careful design review activity. It takes into account the specific features of the proposed technology packages as well as the constraints of demo sites;
• To experimentally validate in a controlled environment the achievable performance of the newly designed enabling technologies;
• To deliver manuals with guidelines for installation of each enabling technology in the proposed TPs;
• To manufacture and commission each enabling technology to be delivered to the demo sites.
  A two step validation will be performed: single technology at each industrial lab and TP at CEA lab.

The INES Plateforme de Formation et Evaluation (PFE) is a well-known association in France. Its goal is to teach and train professionals (building energy system engineers, installers), monitor in-situ installations, and decision-making expertise. It focuses on the design and renovation phases of solar thermal and PV energy in buildings, industry and district heat networks. INES PFE is a separate entity very close to CEA (partner in SunHorizon, and WP6 leader). Both organizations are working in the same office building. 

After the Low-Temperature power (LT) panels tests by CEA in 2021, 20 m² of TVP LT-Power are being integrated as a TVP demo plant by INES PFE experimental platform. Legal aspects and funding decisions about the construction of the platform were considerably delayed by the Covid-19 crisis Thus the installation was finally achieved in early December 2022. Then, the first run and commissioning are just completed on December 15^th 2022. 

Pictures below show the 20m² – TVP demo plant during installation in Autumn 2022 and insight of the technical box with hydraulics and control during the commissioning.

Now we are waiting for the cold and sunny days of January to show the high efficiency of the TVP solar thermal plant with the first professional training session!

Sant Cugat participated in the conference of European projects, during a visit to the city by the representatives of the German Czech Economic Forum (GCEF). It was held at the facilities of the Sant Cugat Town Hall last Thursday, November 17^th, 2022.

Please, feel free to download the presentation of the event here.

Below you can find some photos of the event.

In general, SunHorizon demonstrates up to TRL 7 innovative, reliable, cost-effective coupling of solar and heat pump technologies. Indeed, it addresses three main research pillars that interact with each other towards project objectives achievement, demonstration and replication:

1. Optimized design, engineering and manufacturing of SunHorizon technologies
2. Smart functional monitoring for heating & cooling (H&C)
3. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) driven management and demonstration

T2.4 established a list of indicators to assess the performances of SunHorizon standalone technology and combined packages during their operational phase and for the simulation scenarios to achieve project objectives. In order to calculate these KPIs, within WP4 a proactive KPI-based tool has been developed, which automatically calculates the KPIs of each demo site.

In particular, the D6.5 conducts a review of monitoring data production, collection and operation summary reports of the SunHorizon installed Technology Packages in the cases of Madrid and Sant Cugat (Spain), and Riga – Sunisi and Riga – Imanta (Latvia). Moreover, it reports monitoring and operation summaries (KPIs). In general, the document shows the operation summary of the demos over the past months (summer period) and detects ways to improve the data collection and control of the Technology Packages. 

STRUCTURE OF D6.5

The deliverable is structured as follows:

• Section 1 with the Introduction
• Section 2 describes the methodological approach
• Section 3 shows Sant Cugat demo site
• Section 4 focuses on Madrid demo site
• Section 5 explains Riga – Imanta demo site
• Section 6 describes Riga – Sunisi demo site
• Section 7 draws conclusions from the present deliverable

Feel free to read our Deliverable 6.5 – Second Report on SunHorizon monitoring activities here.

You can find all our other deliverables in the sections dedicated “Project Public Reports“.

SunHorizon participated in the Enlit Europe – EU Projects Zone Packages, endorsed by the European Commission. It was held from 29th of November to 1st December 2022, in Frankfurt, Germany.

Enlit Europe is a joint platform comprised of European Utility Week and POWERGEN Europe events. In particular, exhibitions focusing on future-proof energy production throughout the entire supply chain from the power plant to the end user. The 2022 Enlit Europe edition inspired over 18.000 visitors with three days of transformative networking at Frankfurt Messe.

RINA Consulting Spa presented the SunHorizon project through its booth. Indeed, it aims to inform the concept and the whole project updates.

The trade fair Enlit in Europe planned a series of events, exhibitions and an end-to-end forum designed for collective action toward tackling Europe’s energy transition. Indeed, the exhibit features an assortment of products disrupting the current unsustainable energy flows. Lots of topics were discussed at Enlit Europe:

• AI software
• Long-duration batteries
• Renewable power production
• Decentralised energy generation
• Services of engagement
• Raising awareness about the global avenues for energy transition

Further topics featured at the Enlit Europe 2022 hubs were Data hub, New energy landscape hub, Lifecycle management, and Empowered consumer hub.

Finally, the floor plan was divided into thematic hubs each with its own programme schedule making it a perfect place for creating partnerships between exhibitors and visitors.

The D4.6 “SunHorizon Integrated Tool Manual” is a technical communication document. Indeed, it aims to give assistance to people on how to use some tools and how to use a product safely, effectively and efficiently, and also to create a better user experience.

This Integrated Tool Manual aims to provide a general description and a guide to the use of each tool developed in the SunHorizon project:

• iDashboard from iScan
• Proactive maintenance
• Design under uncertainty
• Feedback app
• Decision support tool
• Dashboard in EcoStruxure

A user manual consists of textual visual information (e.g., illustrations, screenshots, tables etc.) to assist the user in completing specific tasks. It contains both procedural information (step-by-step instructions) and conceptual information needed to understand how to approach, to use and to manage the tools and their related issues.

Looking at the structure of the instructional manual we can distinguish blocks and sections, each of them with its characteristics, communicative purposes and consequent complexity. Furthermore, each section explains the procedure to obtain the suggested correct use of the integrated tool.

The communicative intention of the manual is therefore to facilitate the relationship between the user and the Integrated Tool to get the user maximum satisfaction by taking advantage of its functionality. Indeed, the manual gives a series of instructions with the aim of suggesting a certain behaviour (which results in a series of actions) to obtain optimal functioning.

Feel free to read our Deliverable D4.6 – SunHorizon Integrated Tool Manual here.

You can find all our other deliverables in the sections dedicated “Project Public Reports“.

SunHorizon participated in the “Setmana de la Transició energètica” (Week of the Energy Transition), hosted by the Ajuntament de Sant Cugat in Spain from the 25th of October to the 26th of November 2022. In particular, on the 22nd of November, it was involved in the webinar “Projectes Europeus per a la transició energètica” (European Projects for the Energy Transition) – together with the GEOFIT Project.

The event showcases the importance of European projects to promote the Energy Transition. However, it also underlines the necessity of an organisation strategy to train the public authorities – in particular in small town, as Sant Cugat del Vallès.

The presentation of the event is downloadable here.

SunHorizon project aims to demonstrate innovative and reliable heat pump solutions properly coupled with advanced solar panels and thermal energy storage that can provide heating and cooling (H&C) to residential and tertiary buildings.

Specifically, the project designed and developed six different types of technologies:

• BoostHEAT Thermal Compression Heat Pump;
• FAHRENHEIT Adsorption Heat Pump;
• BDR Thermea Group Reversible Heat Pump;
• RATIOTHERM Enhanced Stratified Thermal Storage Tank
• DualSun Hybrid PV-T
• TVP Solar LT-POWER High Vacuum solar thermal panels

In general, the innovative heat pump technologies are combined with solar appliances in Technology Packages (TPs) to unlock the potential for a mass-customized, user-friendly and cost-effective solution for heating and cooling. TPs are demonstrated in real buildings in four geographically spread locations in the European Union:

1. Berlin and Nürnberg in Germany
2. Sant Cugat del Vallès and Madrid in Spain
3. Riga in Latvia
4. The deliverable has been based on the original Belgian demo site. However due to external difficulties, it has been substituted with the demo site in Cluj Napoca, Romania.

D7.4 is part of Work Package 7 (WP7) aimed at outlining innovative pathways for the rapid market replication of solar panels coupled with heat pumps. It also refers to the activities performed in Task 7.3 – ”Pre-feasibility studies in six virtual demonstrators all around Europe via SunHorizon Design Optimized Tool”. Task 7.3 aims to achieve the optimized design and building integration of SunHorizon H&C technologies. Furthermore, this is done by respecting the aesthetic restrictions of the buildings, maximizing the usage of RES and ensuring proper satisfaction of local H&C demand.

The Deliverable aims to present six Pre-feasibility studies of SunHorizon TPs focusing on virtual demonstrators – i.e. buildings of different typologies and located in different climate zones. The study considers a predesign and preliminary assessment of the SunHorizon TPs to evaluate the optimal configuration of SunHorizon innovative technology in six virtual demonstrators for their possible replicability in buildings other than the project pilot sites.

The application of SunHorizon TPs considers technical, legal and economic aspects (i.e., the feasibility of the installations). Partners of Task 7.3 were involved in the assessment of the three above-mentioned aspects. Specifically, CNR/ITAE, CARTIF and BDR for the technical aspects, VEOLIA for the economic aspects and the Ajuntament de Sant Cugat del Vallès for the legal aspects.

Technical activities are performed starting from the Tool developed by RINA-C in Work Package 4, Task 4.3 “Formulation and methods for optimal design under uncertainty of H&C components”. The tool was prepared and tested for both residential and non-residential buildings. In this deliverable, it is applied to the four TPs tested in the real SunHorizon demonstrators:

• TP1 and TP2 are meant for DHW and heating supply

• TP3 and TP4 for cooling, heating and domestic hot water supply

Structure of D7.4

The deliverable is structured as follows:

• Section 1 with the Introduction
• Section 2 describes the methodological approach
• Section 3 describes the DUU optimization Tool used for the simulations of the six demonstrator buildings
• Section 4 focuses on the pre-feasibility studies on the six virtual demonstrator buildings and specifically on:
  • Technical: input data, simulations outcomes from DUU Tool and an example of “design applying a safety factor”
  • Economic: Business Models
  • Legal: results from the EU legal online survey aspects
• Section 5 draws conclusions from the present deliverable

Feel free to read our Deliverable 7.4 – Pre-Feasibility Replication studies here.

You can find all our other deliverables in the sections dedicated “Project Public Reports“.

On the 5th and 6th of October 2022, SunHorizon consortium met in a hybrid way – both in Madrid (Spain) and online – for the M48 General Assembly, kindly hosted by our partner Empresa Municipal de la Viviendaa y Suelo de Madrid (EMVS).

In a General Assembly, the partners present what they implemented over the previous six months of the project, the difficulties encountered, and what are the next steps. For organisational reasons, the Assembly was divided as follows. The first day was about each work package and the visit to the Madrid demo site; while the second day was about each demo site.

We have a new Project Coordinator: Serena Scotton, with Nora Ganzinelli’s help, took over!

On the first day, each WP representative (except for the WP6) provided an update on the status of the WP and deliverables, as well as the next steps. In particular, the WP4 – Pillar 2: Functional Monitoring Platform and Optimization Tool leader presented the cloud-based monitoring platform: KPIs, tools and systems to optimize the design and the monitoring of the different components of the heating and cooling systems. After that, the Consortium had a workshop on the simulation tools, in particular about the demo and visualisation of different tools and their operation. The leader of WP5 – Pillar 3: Thermal Comfort and Monitoring Data Driven Control System is working on the integration of the overall SunHorizon control approach into the cloud-based monitoring platform and in defining guidelines for the integration of SunHorizon control loop with different TPs and validate its operation. 

After the presentation of each work package, the Consortium visited the Madrid demo site. It consists of a 10 flats social housing apartment block (1072 m²), envelope under retrofit.
Below you can see some photos of the building.

The second day was dedicated to WP6 – Demonstration at TRL7 and demonstration sites. WP6 aims to demonstrate the TRL7 and run the SunHorizon technologies in the demo sites. So each demo site leader showed a general update on their work. In particular, in Nuremberg, the installation has not started due to some problems. In Cluj Napoca, the involvement of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca has started actively by February 2022. Saint Cugat and Madrid demo sites finalised the commissioning, so they already started collecting monitoring data.

You can find some photos of the General Assembly M48 below.