The Implementation Working Group on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (IWG5) organised its first Study Tour in Berlin on 4 July 2023. It was organised by WIP Renewable Energies, in collaboration with IWG5 chairs from Project Management Jülich. The participants of the Study Tour were renewable energy associations, research centers and country representatives.
The Study Tour took place at the Berlin Adlershof Technology Park, one of the most modern science and technology parks in Germany. It includes 580 companies, 500 local businesses, single family homes and non-university research institutes covering the following technology fields: photonics and optics, photovoltaics and renewable energies, microsystems and materials, information technology (IT) and media, biotechnology and the environment. More information can be found here.
Members and stakeholders gathered in front of the Institut für Physik der Humboldt-Universität Berlin. Dr. Björn Rau, Head of BAIP, gave a presentation on building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).
The tour started with a visit to a living lab with a 50-kW solar façade. The façade was built with 360 CIGS thin-film solar modules with a power output of 135 W each, installed on the west, south and north sides of the building.
The second building of the study tour was the Centre for Photonics and Optics. The multi-storey building has a double glass façade. It offers increased thermal insulation with maximum transparency and allows controlled, natural ventilation of the rooms behind it. The smaller building with the 7.50 m high hall for large-scale experiments is a simple steel construction with glass walls.
The visit continued to the Centre for Photovoltaics and Renewable Energies with Frank Lauterbach, Managing Director of Forum Adlershof. The roof of the foyer is covered with large photovoltaic testing areas for energy generation. Vertical ground loops in boreholes are used for generating heat and cold energy. Ceiling concrete core activation in the offices as well as low-temperature underfloor heating in the atrium use regenerative energy to ensure comfort in this building.
The visit ended at the Institute of Physics in Berlin-Adlershof. The building was designed by architects Georg Augustin and Ute Frank following a concept of decentralised rainwater management, building greening, and elements for cooling and ventilation. Rainwater is stored in cisterns and used to irrigate a façade greening system and to generate evaporative cooling in air conditioners. Extra water is collected in a pond in the building’s courtyard allowing the water to either evaporate or drain into the ground.
Research is being conducted to draw up recommendations for an optimal and economical management of the building’s mechanical systems with an emphasis on an innovative and sustainable use of the resources water and energy as well as on the reduction of operating costs.
More information on the building can be found here.
