AI applications for energy storage in historical buildings

Historical buildings account for a significant portion of energy use of today's building stock, 20% of those built before 1945, and there are usually limiting energy saving measures due to cultural conservation rules.

The purpose of this project is to use the building as a heating battery, i.e. store energy in the building’s structures without physically changing these.

With help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning models, heat supply is controlled by weather forecast, which enables optimization of energy use and power demand under sustained adequate indoor temperatures.

The technique can be combined with temporary reduction of heating without affecting operating temperature and thermal comfort of premises. The method can also be used to save cooling energy in summer.

The project evaluates energy storage potential for more efficient energy use in historical buildings via both field measurements and energy simulations.