How can we facilitate the energy transition in the real estate sector?

The move and NEST (in the background) demonstration platforms © Empa

Interview with Philipp Heer, head of Empa’s e-hub

The energy transition will play a crucial role in the real estate sector over the next few decades. Empa’s energy research platform explores how to optimise energy management within individual buildings, across entire districts and even in cities as a whole. In this exclusive interview, the head of e-hub, Philipp Heer, reveals the current state of research and what the future holds. 

Philipp, could you give us a brief introduction to the Energy Hub?   

The Energy Hub, or e-hub for short, is Empa’s platform for energy research. At the e-hub, we collaborate with research and business partners to develop solutions for a sustainable energy supply. This includes planning and operating energy systems for individual buildings, entire districts and national coverage. Our research is undertaken on NEST and move, our two demonstration platforms. 
 

What kinds of projects does the e-hub’s research cover?

Lots of projects explore questions of sector coupling and flexibility within the energy system. They primarily focus on taking an integrated view and networking electricity, heating and mobility.

There is a huge amount of potential when it comes to intelligently aligning demand with the energy sources available. Buildings can be operated much more flexibly and efficiently than most are today. For instance, we don’t always need the heating to be turned on as soon as there’s demand for heat. The best approach to heating management takes into account whether there is solar energy or residual heat in the room: depending on the insulation, a room will remain pleasantly warm for two or three hours, or even longer, once the heating has been paused. 

While we’re on the subject, people also often forget that sun isn’t just used to produce electricity or hot water: it can passively heat buildings, too. Especially in the winter months, when there is less renewable energy available, smart construction techniques and good insulation can make the best possible use of the sun’s heat that comes through a building’s windows and façade. That said, a building that’s well-insulated in Switzerland will also experience greater demand for cooling in summer – but, with more renewable energy available to us during this season, this is more sustainable, on balance. 

Another example is the bidirectional use of batteries in electric cars, something known as ‘vehicle-to-home’. Under this approach, weather-dependent energy, e.g. from photovoltaic systems, can be stored in an electric car’s battery for subsequent usage. It is possible to tap into the unused energy in the battery to cover demand for electricity in residential and commercial properties. 
 

Around 40 percent of Switzerland’s energy consumption occurs within properties. Where’s the biggest scope for cutting back?

It’s hardly surprising that heat generation is responsible for the lion’s share of consumption, which means that heating is also the area with the greatest scope for making reductions. 

The renovation and new-build rate is still just 1%, meaning that, in 2050, lots of buildings will still be around as they are today. In other words, we need to optimise the way things are done within existing properties and make renovations as simple as possible.

There are already ways to substantially reduce consumption within buildings. A predictive heating controller, for instance, reduces energy usage by 20%. Unlike a traditional heating controller, this device functions proactively and takes into account relevant factors such as weather forecasts, exterior and interior temperature, solar energy obtained via panels, and the amount of window area. This doesn’t impinge on the level of comfort within the property: in fact, it improves it by ensuring the temperature is controlled in the best possible way. Other solutions include easy-to-use thermal insulation, such as spray foam, or solar panels integrated into building façades.

They will be joined by advancements in electromobility in the future. Alongside the vehicle-to-home approach I mentioned before, an electric vehicle’s battery can also be used for ‘vehicle-to-grid’, i.e. feeding the stored energy into the electricity grid. The major potential in this respect relates to storing renewable energy – such as solar energy produced during the day that can be used in the evening. Today, the technology and regulations required for this are still being developed. 

What are people currently expecting from electromobility at present? This topic does come in for criticism from time to time?

Motorised individual transport is undergoing a major shift towards electric vehicles. For lorries, the trend is towards hydrogen and synthetic gas. 

The way in which batteries are produced comes in for the most criticism: this process does indeed use a lot of grey energy. However, this is nothing compared to the environmental impact of traditional, petrol- or diesel-powered mobility. Temporarily storing electrical energy via vehicle-to-grid is also greener than getting carbon-fuelled energy from the grid.

All told, electromobility plays a major role in a sustainable energy system. That’s why the technology is breaking through, but we do need the right charging infrastructure to support it. Pre-existing properties often don’t have the energy connections required for this: we need a smart approach to energy management in this regard. Changes in society illustrate that we need to find solutions.

E-charging stations in a commercial property. © Livit Ltd.

How will we be able to close the chapter on fossil fuels?

This remains a tricky task: we need more incentives to encourage the development and use of new systems and technology.

Switzerland has the highest heating oil consumption of any country in Europe.1 When people are renovating a building, they’ll often still go for an oil-fuelled heating system if they’re under time pressure. In terms of the net-zero goal, we need to move away from fossil oil and shift towards heat pumps, gas heating systems – run on synthetic gas or biogas – or other alternatives, such as pellet/wood-fired heating systems and sources of waste heat. 

One area that poses a major challenge is storing renewable energy from day to night, or from winter to summer. In summer, we’ve got lots of meltwater, the reservoirs are full to the brim, river water produces more energy and there’s more solar energy available, too. 

In winter, we import energy, primarily gas and electricity from coal-fired power plants. By extension, this means that the carbon footprint of the energy we use is around ten times bigger than in summer. In other words, we need to move renewable energy from summer to winter. Batteries aren’t an option: they lose too much energy over an extended period of time (anything more than a week). 

We can store heat with geothermal probes but we still need electricity to operate the heat pumps. This is where new technologies like power-to-gas come in. This approach enables surplus electricity generated in summer to be converted to synthetic gas and stored in this form, with hardly any energy being lost. However, the costs are very high and incentives low. But it’s exactly these kinds of concepts that we need on a large scale if we want to leave fossil fuels behind. 

It’s great that we already have a sizeable, pre-existing infrastructure for gas and that gas-fired heating systems using biogas and surplus gas aren’t bad at all.

There is no doubt that the demand for electricity is on the up. How can this demand be met in a sustainable way?

There’s a war waging for roof space: should this area be used for a heat exchanger for a heat pump, solar panels, thermal collectors or a terrace for residents? As far as energy goes, solar panels reign supreme, but it can also make sense to integrate solar/photovoltaic systems into a building’s façade. 

Moving forward, looking at things in isolation will no longer cut the mustard. We need to create incentives for people to install photovoltaic systems that are as large as possible so the community can benefit from the surplus energy being fed back into the grid. In 2050, we still won’t need to worry about there being too much renewable energy over the course of the year. That’s why it makes sense to generate as much as possible locally and convert summer’s surplus energy into hydrogen and synthetic gas.  

What digital achievements are already having a major impact?

I wouldn’t quite see smart meters as a ‘digital achievement’, but they offer great potential for savings. Taking analogue meter readings is a thing of the past: a smart meter collects the meter data digitally and sends readings to the grid operator once a day, detailing usage for every 15-minute period. This data enables network usage to be evaluated and the system’s efficiency enhanced.

By law, a large proportion of properties will need to have smart meters by 2028. No doubt, this will have a positive impact. There are also start-ups that have developed energy measuring devices to offer a visual depiction of your individual consumption figures. It’s easy to install these kinds of sensors in your own home – but you need to handle this yourself, which presents an obstacle. We don’t yet have the underlying infrastructure to make this measurement data visible for everyone.

In terms of heating, Empa’s spin-off Viboo uses digital thermostats with a forward-looking algorithm to manage the radiator thermostat. They’re a breeze to install and can be used on radiators and for underfloor and ceiling heating, thereby enabling a large amount of energy to be saved without sacrificing comfort.

Radiator with traditional thermostat

You’ve mentioned some promising innovations. What do you think are the obstacles in the way of making them a reality?

The biggest obstacles are cost and expertise. New technologies and concepts like power-to-gas and vehicle-to-grid require expertise and we need to construct business cases so they can become more widespread.

In Switzerland, an hour of labour is very expensive: this, too, represents an obstacle. At Empa, we’re also working on solutions to reduce the impact of this by creating algorithms that can use learned knowledge to compare heat generation across properties or suggest specific renovation tasks. This would be a major achievement. What we’re currently seeing with ChatGPT could next make a foray into measurement data in the real estate sector, too. 

Another challenge is that no two buildings are the same: there’s no one-size-fits-all template. 
 

And what are the opportunities?

The biggest opportunity is that we’re a highly innovative country. Year in, year out, we’re the world leader in innovation across a whole host of industries. That said, the energy and construction sectors are lagging behind. Driving forward digitalisation in these sectors represents a huge opportunity: I still think there’s a good deal of potential here. 

Embedding Switzerland within the EU’s system will doubtless be of benefit. No question about it, it would be a very hard journey to undertake on our own. We can reap the rewards of shared solutions – such as the support for hydrogen power provided by the European Commission. Either way, as an importer, we’re dependent on other countries, and that won’t change. 

You mentioned artificial intelligence. This is a really hot topic: how will AI change construction and building operations?

AI makes things much easier and is propelling automation forward. It handles repetitive tasks, with consistent planning processes just needing to be checked over. Plus, AI enables lots of expertise to be shared with less experienced specialists. It helps us become quicker and more efficient, while reducing the risk of mistakes being made. 

For instance, AI can help with commissioning by setting up parameters for systems when they're first switched on. During operation, adaptive, AI-enhanced building automation can automatically make adjustments to the building to take new situations into account, like vacancies or a change of tenants. This is linked to the field of ‘predictive maintenance’, which entails automatic notifications for maintenance intervals, replacements, system modifications or suggested renovation activities. 

In short, AI can provide substantial assistance to individual stakeholders in the construction and energy sector and create added value.
 

What could the future look like in 50 years? 

We won’t be using fossil fuels in any form. Instead, various technologies will be used to generate electricity, all of which will be aligned with each other. Planning won’t stop at a property boundary: it’ll cover entire districts or cities. Decentralised energy systems, as they’re known, enable energy to be provided and used from various different sources.

We’re strong advocates of neighbouring properties being integrated into plans – even today. The more that different buildings are networked with each other, the cheaper and more sustainable the solution. In fact, we don’t need every building to have its own heating system. That’s inefficient. 

The trend is moving towards living as groups. Until now, there was a good deal that we didn’t need to take into account. But, as time goes on, the more we need to rethink process boundaries to combat the shortage of resources and energy, which also entails clarifying ownership structures, billing approaches and remuneration systems.
 

Despite the benefits they offer, these decentralised energy systems go hand-in-hand with higher costs, right?  

Modern-day energy solutions are all about being cost-efficient and convenient, not sustainable. If we shift the focus towards sustainability, the costs will increase, in general terms. However, we need this to change if we want to reach our climate goals. One way to achieve this is with financial incentives. If the price of CO₂ increases, sooner or later it’ll be worth installing a heat pump or electric charging point. 

Where are we now compared to 60 years ago, when Livit was established?

We’re at a turning point: suddenly, the pace is really picking up in all kinds of areas. Global warming is accelerating and ice is melting faster – but other developments, like AI, as we mentioned, are also advancing more quickly. This means we’re focusing on totally different topics today from those that occupied us 60 years ago.

As far as energy goes, we’re much more dependent on energy system than we were and will be even more so in the future. A lengthy electricity blackout has a worse weighting in the catastrophe index than another pandemic. If the electricity goes down for a week, this is a real issue: everything is dependent on electricity. 
 

Finally, could you give us a brief overview of the most promising innovations we can look forward to?

Within real estate, bidirectional charging with electromobility is a big driver, as well as hydrogen and synthetic gas as fuels. If hydrogen infrastructure makes a breakthrough, this could be used to generate heat and electrical energy – like natural gas, but more sustainable. 

When it comes to digitalisation, intelligent building automation is a promising development that facilitates communication to enable energy-sharing between various properties. To achieve this, secure, standardised interfaces will lay the foundations for efficient, sustainable local energy use.
 

Thank you for the fascinating discussion!

¹ Source: www.swissinfo.ch