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New opportunities with new technologies
Energy-optimised buildings are already technically realisable today. But also in the building trade, new technologies offer new opportunities. New materials, technologies and systems for construction engineering and for buildings' technical equipment can make buildings more comfortable, slimmer, more energy-efficient, more flexible, more convenient, more cost-efficient, or more durable. Here, on an ongoing basis, we present new technological approaches arising from research into "buildings of the future", show the pilot projects in which prototype systems are already proving themselves, and show which hurdles must yet be surmounted before market entry is possible.
In this research project, a production process for a new type of vacuum panel has been developed. Loose silica powder can now be directly processed to form vacuum insulation panels. This enables special shapes to be realised such as vacuum panels with continuously stepped profiles or cylindrical, curved vacuum elements. The new vacuum insulation panels have already been successfully tested in practice in various buildings.
more details Second-generation vacuum insulation
People will need to grow accustomed to this term: “textile architecture”. Buildings such as the Munich football stadium or the swimming pool building in Beijing demonstrate new design and construction possibilities using textile architecture. At the same time, the innovative, lightweight and flexible structures made using sheeting or textile fabrics also allow buildings to be energy-optimised. Now solutions for the energy-oriented refurbishment of buildings are being developed and tested in a research project.
more details Membrane constructions for building refurbishment
Construction systems with integrated phase-change materials (PCM) can store a high degree of heat at room temperature. If this heat is transported by means of water-carrying systems, it is possible to regulate room temperatures in an energy-efficient manner. This research project focused on the ongoing development of materials, components and systems with paraffins, the identification of promising applications, the performance of system tests and the development of a planning tool.
more details Climate-active heat storage in construction materials
This research project is designed to optimise the production of electrochromic glazing. The intention is to reduce the energy input by around 70 per cent and to lower costs by increasing the automation. It is also planned to improve the optical properties by increasing the optical modulation to 10 per cent transmission in the darkened state and 60 per cent in the lightened state.
more details Switchable architectural glazing with electrochromic layers
Central heating requires a central circulation pump – or at least you would think so. The fact that this does not have to be the case has been shown by a pump manufacturer with extremely small and very quiet pumps, which were developed as part of a research project. The high-efficiency pumps require on average just one watt of energy and can supply radiators individually and therefore in accordance with needs. This new generation of small, highly economical pumps are so quiet that they can also be operated in living rooms and bedrooms, whereby they utilise the same power-saving EC motor technology familiar in other high-efficiency pumps.
more details High-efficiency, decentralised heating pumps instead of thermostatic valves
