ThumbsUp Technologies

Heating and cooling (H&C) is the single largest source of energy demand and CO2 emissions in Europe (51% of total EU demand), with residential buildings accounting for 45% of the final H&C consumption (~2500 TWh/y) – unfortunately, they are still very dependant on fossil fuels.

Although RES are increasingly abundant in the EU power sector (~40%), their utilization in the H&C sector remains marginal (9%), even though the use of renewable electricity is one of the key trends toward EU buildings stock decarbonization.

As EU energy systems decarbonize, they will also be ‘horizontally-integrated’ and ‘bidirectional’ to adapt to higher share of fluctuating renewable energy source (RES). However, buildings are still not fully empowered with active roles in supplying and balancing energy despite the growing need for power-to-heating & cooling (PtH/C).

TES solutions currently lack ‘digital smartness’ for they are merely used as ‘thermal buffer’ and simplistically pre-programmed instead of being a key provider of ‘on-demand’ energy flexibility for both thermal and electrical energy sectors.  They miss on-board sensors and controls that can be‘plugged-and-played’ into the orchestrating Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS).

Buildings are required to ‘do more with less’ by reducing energy consumption, in addition to avoiding the use of hazardous or toxic materials, as stated by the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. Moreover, although energy ratings for buildings are progressively improving, it is not the case for the systems delivering the thermal energy.

Factors contributing to this inefficiency include system oversizing, incompatible temperature control, and misbalancing in returning temperatures. This can result in up to 20% of household energy use and increased energy costs.