The Energy Smart Home Lab at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is winner of the competition “365 Places in the Land of Ideas”. The prototype of a smart energy-efficient prefabricated house combines living, electric mobility, and energy and was developed under MeRegioMobil, a joint project of science and industry directed by EnBW. On the occasion of the prize ceremony on March 02, the smart home will be open to the interested public from 10 to 12 hrs (Engesserstraße 11, KIT Campus South). Representatives of the media are cordially invited and asked to register using the form enclosed.
The smart home covers an area of about 60 square meters and is equipped with latest technology. All household appliances are connected with each other. The inhabitants always are provided with information on current energy flows and electricity consumption. The smart home generates its electricity via a photovoltaic system and a micro cogeneration unit. Cogeneration allows for the use of electricity as well as of the heat produced. Moreover, electric vehicles are integrated in the energy management scheme as electricity stores and consumers. “The system is designed such that it can be incorporated in a smart grid and the battery is charged whenever electricity from regenerative sources, wind or solar energy, is available at low costs,” says Professor Hartmut Schmeck, Spokesman of the project at KIT. Vice versa, the car, when unused, can feed electricity back into the grid at times of high load. In this way, load peaks are compensated and regenerative energies from fluctuating sources can be integrated in the energy system.
On the occasion of the hand-over of the prize of “Selected Place 2012” on Friday, March 2, the KIT scientists will present the smart home to the interested public. The prize ceremony will take place at 10 hrs at the smart home on KIT Campus South (Building 30.36, Engesserstrasse 11). Professor Hartmut Schmeck will welcome the guests, welcome addresses will be made by Professor Wilfried Juling, Chief Science and Information Officer of KIT, and a representative of the EnBW Board as well as by Sibel Sagdic from the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas”. The laudation will be made by Andreas Sengpiel from Deutsche Bank, the cooperation partner of the initiative. Prior to the event, Andreas Sengpiel emphasized: “The Energy Smart Home combines the areas of living, energy, and mobility. Here, it can be seen what the smart home in the future will be like.” Afterwards, the Energy Smart Home Lab will be open to the public from 11 to 12 hrs.
The Germany-wide competition “365 Places in the Land of Ideas” is aimed at visualizing the potential of Germany as a location of innovation. Every year, the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank select 365 projects which sustainably contribute to the future viability of Germany.
Invitation to the Prize Ceremony:
http://meregiomobil.forschung.kit.edu/85.php
Film on the Smart Home:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM1fWAuVPek
About MeRegioMobil
MeRegioMobil is a joint project of science and industry directed by the utility company EnBW. Apart from KIT, the consortium partners are Opel, Daimler, Bosch, SAP, the Karlsruhe Utility Company as well as the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI). The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) funds the project under the initiative “Information and Communication Technologies for Electric Mobility”. It is the paramount objective of this research project to efficiently integrate mobile electric stores in vehicles in the existing energy system through the design of innovative information and communication technologies and their implementation in consistent concepts. Eleven chairs of KIT are involved and contribute their competences in the fields of applied and theoretical informatics, software design, law, energy management, electric energy systems, high-voltage technology, electrical engineering as well as telematics and information management.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.