The energy policy challenges resulting from climate change and global crises require measures to reduce energy consumption in various sectors. Heating energy consumption in buildings plays a central role in this: in Germany, around 28 percent of final energy consumption is used for space heating - this is similar to the consumption of the entire transport sector.
In the recently published paper "Development and Application of a Platform for Optimizing Heating System Operation Based on the Building User's Temperature Perception", researchers from the Wuppertal Institute, the EBZ Business School and iBG inbestergesellschaft GmbH (iBG) explain the results of a living lab to optimize heating energy consumption in commercial buildings: Using a web platform, the researchers recorded the comfort needs and temperature perception of the users as well as the actual room temperatures and the operational management and settings of the heating system specified by the building management. Using a bidirectional flow of data and information, a good balance can be achieved between the necessary room temperatures and comfort on the one hand and the most energy-efficient operation possible on the other.
