The Energy IN TIME Operating Principle

Energy IN TIME is a European project funded by the 7th Framework program, with the goal of developing a Smart Energy Simulation Based Control method to reduce the energy consumption and cost in the operational stage of buildings. Energy IN TIME will go beyond existing building control techniques, by integrating a control and operational approach, combining state-of-the-art modelling techniques with an innovative simulation-based control technique. This will allow for the automatic generation of optimal operational plans tailored to actual building and user requirements, reducing system inefficiencies and contributing to the improved building energy efficiency and comfort.

There are different abstraction levels, or layouts in Building Energy Control. The Energy IN TIME solution will act on different control levels.

Energy IN TIME defines an Execution Level, on which the daily operation of the building is controlled via the BEMS, providing set-points for all equipment and systems. A sensors network will detect faults in actuators, systems or even in sensors, ensuring that the building keeps working properly, as it was designed to.
On an upper level Energy IN TIME will define the Supervision & Reconfiguration Level in which, supported by monitoring and fault Detection & Diagnosis, the Simulation Based Control will be managed. At this level, using simulation techniques, the actual monitored energy demand will be compared to the simulated demand to keep track of the existing gap between the two. Whenever the gap is higher than desired Energy IN TIME will look for the cause, solve it and, if necessary, reconfigure the building energy system, setting new set- points adapted to the new situation.

Additionally, Energy IN TIME will distinguish a third level: the Operational Plan Generation Level. At this level the Optimal Operational Plan for the particular building configuration will be generated according to external variables such as weather, user behavior and energy prices. By using forecasted data this Plan will be generated in advance, anticipating future needs, and will be launched to the building IN TIME and operated by the energy system installed. For the Optimal Operational Plan definition Energy IN TIME will apply State-of-the-Art simulation techniques and optimization algorithms that will ensure the minimum energy consumption while maintaining the comfort conditions specified by the users.

To make the solution even more robust, Energy IN TIME will be complemented with two additional tools:
Decision Support Tool, at the Decision Making level, gathering all the data related to the building operation and status. With this information, Energy IN TIME will offer an additional tool which will be extremely useful for refurbishment and retrofitting works, as well as for new buildings design.
Trying to cover the maintenance operations, Energy IN TIME will develop a Continuous Commissioning methodology focused on keeping the equipment in its most efficient state, reinforced by a Predictive Maintenance module in the Global Energy IN TIME solution.

Interview with Belén Gómez-Uribarri from Acciona, Energy IN TIME Project Coordinator:

Our project coordinator, Belén Gómez-Uribarri from Acciona, took some time out of her busy schedule to give us her personal take on Energy IN TIME. Find out where the idea for Energy IN TIME came from, how Energy IN TIME differs from existing BEMS and what the main advantages are of using the Energy IN TIME solution in your building.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I hold a Degree in Industrial Engineering by the University of Seville (SPAIN). I have been working on engineering field for more than ten years, been mainly involved in projects related to Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency. At the present, I belong to the Energy Efficiency Installations Group at ACCIONA R&D Technological Centre being involved in several EU- funding Projects related to Energy Efficiency and RES in Building field. Energy IN TIME is the project in which I am more deeply involved as Coordinator.

2. Where did the idea for Energy IN TIME come from?
ACCIONA is one of the most foremost Spanish business corporations, leader in the development and management of infrastructure, renewable energy, water and services. ACCIONA also acts as an Energy Service Company (ESCO) for large buildings and industries. The activity developed in this field has conferred to ACCIONA a good and accurate vision of the market’s needs in Building Energy Efficiency Management. The progresses and developments carried out in the ACCIONA’s R&D Technological Centre in Energy Efficiency and Environmental Technologies field have constituted the main sources of innovative tools to facilitate the best Energy Efficiency Management tools to ACCIONA’s ESCO as well as the inspiration for new innovative tools as it is the concept of Energy IN TIME Solution.
With the very powerful Energy IN TIME’s Consortium, composed by the most foremost European entities with a very high expertise in different fields like; Control Strategies, Data Treatment, Communications Issues, Energy Audit Methodology, Simulation and Modelling tools, Energy Management, Decision Support Tools…, among others, and with the EU support will be possible to develop this powerful and innovative solution for Building Energy Management that is Energy IN TIME solution

3. What are the main advantages of using Energy IN TIME?
Using the Energy IN TIME solution will ensure, through optimization strategies applied to control algorithms , a high energy efficiency level in many different type of buildings with a unique tool and remotely, which means that energy will be consumed:
– IN TIME, only when it is really needed,
– only what it is really needed, and
– in the most cost-efficient way possible, promoting the RES integration
All this will be translated in lower energy consumption, less CO2 emissions, and a more sustainable and efficient energy generation and consumption.

4. How will the Energy IN TIME solution differ from existing BEMS? What is the main innovation?
Most BMS’s ensure the correct functioning of the hydraulic, mechanical and electric systems and equipment, and assure comfortable conditions according to user demand, but don’t take energy efficiency into account nor try to reduce energy consumption.
In contrast, the tendency in the building energy efficiency market is to offer remote energy efficiency services, consisting of energy auditing and monitoring, and the generation of energy consumption reports, but not managing and controlling the BMS to improve energy efficiency.
Energy IN TIME offers a centralized control building platform able to communicate with BMS devices and provide them with an optimal operation plan according to the building’s particular configuration and taking into account external variables such as weather conditions, users’ behavior, building usage schedule.

5. What is the biggest technical challenge that needs to be overcome in the development of the Energy IN TIME solution?
There are three biggest technical challenges to be overcome in Energy IN TIME solution:

The management of a huge amount of information. Energy IN TIME will communicate with several buildings, each building will be different with its own constructive characteristics its local climate characteristic, its own energy performance and its own control and management needs. Together with forecasted data, Energy INTIME will manage IN TIME data. The communication with each building will be settled by an innovative Communication platform concept. And all together will be integrated in a centralized tool.
Accurate building simulation model. In order to achieve a proper energy management policy in buildings it is important not only to have an accurate building simulation model of the energy building performance but also this model has to be continuously calibrated and its complexity level and execution time have to be the adequate ones to be easily implemented for control algorithms

Advanced control techniques. In Energy IN TIME it will be developed an innovative modular Simulation based building Control. This Control will implement dynamically the operational plans, generated through the simulations done with the virtual operating models, achieving an optimal schedule and balance of the power flow between energy sources and storage. So the HVAC set-points will be continuously adjust for adapting the building’s energy performance to occupancy and weather loads, based on the actual and forecast information

Collaboration with related European projects Tribute and Performer

After a successful initial teleconference at the beginning of July, the European projects Energy IN TIME, PERFORMER and TRIBUTE have agreed to a joint collaboration during the project lifetimes. The projects, which started more or less concurrently, share many similarities. All three are large-scale integrating projects, funded under the same call, and they share the overall objective of improving the energy efficiency of buildings.

The teleconference, which was attended by the project coordinators, dissemination representatives and other interested parties from the three projects, provided the participants with the opportunity to present their projects and discuss initial ideas for future cooperation, such as the organization of joint events. As a follow-up to this initial contact, the projects have organized a joint workshop at Sustainable Places 2014 (http://sustainable-places.eu/sp2014/), to discuss the collaboration in greater detail.

Links to our partner project’s websites can be found on our homepage.

2nd International Energy IN TIME meeting in Faro, Portugal

The 2nd international meeting of the European project Energy IN TIME was held in Faro, Portugal, on the 1st and 2nd of April 2014. A total of 29 participants from the 13 partner institutes attended the meeting, which included a guided visit of the Airport, a Steering Committee meeting and an Exploitation Strategy Seminar (ESS).

The meeting was opened at 13.30 on the first day at Faro Airport, with a warm welcome from ANA. This was followed by a guided tour of Faro Airport by ANA’s technical team and a presentation on the technical points covered in the visit. The visit covered the command and control zone, power station and public areas, amongst others, and participants were given the opportunity to ask questions regarding the systems and equipment installed by the ANA group technicians. Finally, the day was rounded off with a social dinner, in which the partners got to try some of the local cuisine and wines.

The second day began with a Steering Committee meeting led by Belén Gómez-Uribarri, the Project Coordinator, in which each Work Package Leader presented the work progress in the first 6 months and plans for the upcoming months. Communication was then established via Skype with the PTA, Dimitrios Karadimas, to review all the issues raised in the Kick-off meeting. With a slight delay in the agenda the meeting continued with the parallel working sessions and the ESS. The seminar was lead by the Ana Daniel, an expert coach appointed by DG Research & Innovation for this purpose. The meeting came to a close at 17:30, after some final words from the Project Coordinator and our hosts, ANA.