Refurbishment Strategy Based on Smart Radiator Controllers
Background
Buildings use approximately one third of the overall energy use in developed countries. In the last decades, the energy use in newly constructed buildings has been significantly decreased by stricter regulation requirements and improvements in design and building energy and control systems. Still, in older buildings there is an urgent need for cost-efficient solutions capable to optimize energy use and indoor comfort.
Solutions based on digitalization have proven to be cost effective in optimizing the operation of residential buildings. This thesis deals with a refurbishment strategy based on smart radiators controllers; in particular, the thesis focuses on its implementation feasibility on an existing block of flats representative of older residential buildings in Stockholm.
This thesis is a collaboration between JLW Fastigheter, KTH Department of Energy Technology and the KTH Live-In Lab . The thesis is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency as part of the DOCENT project; this research aims to develop and implement cost-effective, practical, and scalable solutions for the Nordic countries.
Experimental setup
The property used for the experimental setup is located on Valhallavägen close to KTH main campus. The property was constructed 1931 and comprises 30 residential units, three retail spaces and a garage facility.
All apartments in the building feature temperature and humidity sensors which are used to centrally control the heating system and provide an average indoor temperature of 20˚C.
Nevertheless, following the complaints of some tenants on thermal discomfort in winter 2022, an investigation was carried out. Preliminary results from the analysis of the indoor climate conditions reached the following conclusions:
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some complaining tenants have lower temperatures than other residents, while one of the residents that complained had over 21˚C;
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the apartments with the lowest temperatures are around 18˚C, while the apartments with the highest temperatures are up to 24˚C;
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there is no intuitive pattern explaining the uneven distribution of temperatures among the apartments; for instance, some of the coldest are apartments are located both on the highest floor and lowest floor.
Research challenges and main objectives
The work in this thesis will:
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Extend the analysis of the indoor and energy data available to identify anomalous temperature patterns in the apartments;
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Estimate the energy overshoot and comfort due to the power imbalance in the system;
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Assess the potential energy savings from a fine tuned system;
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Identify reliable and cost-efficient smart thermostats to improve the radiator control.
Perform a technical feasibility and cost-benefit analysis of the smart thermostat controls.
Required skills
Strong communication skills, both verbal and writing, in English
Good understanding of building technical systems
Good programming (e.g., Matlab, Python or Excel) and data analysis skills
Previous experience with building energy and comfort simulation programs (e.g., IDA-ICE, TRNSYS)
Contacts and supervision
Jonas Wu
Industrial supervisor
Director, JLW
jonas@jlwf.se
+46707968313