Category: Scientific

CLIMA theme Learning & Education

All newsLearning & educationScientific

Article from REHVA Journal 2, 2022 – Laure Itard & Christian Struck

An unusual theme for a CLIMA Congress, generally striving to technical advances. A focus on education, though, has always been present at CLIMA congresses with REHVA courses, student competitions and attention to new handbooks and guidelines. For CLIMA2022 we have chosen to also include dedicated sessions about learning and education, as we feel the societal challenges are becoming urgent, think about the energy transition, digitization, lack of workforce and the potential impact of online learning.

The HVAC sector changes rapidly
The European targets with respect to the energy transition in the built environment are huge. To realize the transition towards and CO2 neutral and circular build environment by 2050, upscaling of solutions is urgently needed. Dissemination of technical innovations and proven knowledge and approaches is needed. The building services sector is a main sector to realize this transition: next to delivering the workforce for designing, placing and maintaining all energy and indoor climate equipment in buildings and neighbourhoods, the sector also acts as innovator and as a pivot between the sectors of construction, energy, health and IT & data analytics, integrating knowledge from these fields. Rapid changes in energy and HVAC engineering techniques and systems and in business models, contracts and processes make it necessary to accelerate the uptake of knowledge in these areas. Continuous professional development of the current workforce and the education of new employees is therefore necessary.

Educational challenges in the HVAC Sector are broad
Educational challenges have been identified in several studies like the European BuildUpSkills project. Dealing with these challenges have become even more important because they are decisive in realizing the targets of the energy transition. In detail relevant challenges include the following:

  • Increased need for professional workforce: There are too few people working in the sector to realize the energy transition. A shortage of 3 000 workers per year is given for the Dutch sector. This has implications related to the education of new employees, mainly having no background in building or energy engineering services.
  • Slow uptake of basic and integrated knowledge: the main challenges here relate to previous point and are how to accelerate and improve the uptake of knowledge inside the company. For instance from senior to junior and vice-versa; cross-specialism (e.g. from electrical to mechanical; from design departments to maintenance departments), balancing between innovation, risk management, lack of time and workforce.
  • There are a few domains where in-depth knowledge has shifted from designers to producers of components, like is the case with hydraulic appendages, hydraulic design or system controls. How to take care thatknowledge at the system level increases?
  • Rapid change of technologies and related knowledge: The sector is facing rapid changes in energy techniques (e.g. all electric instead of gas-driven; low temperature heating networks, integration of heating and electrical networks, NZEB buildings); engineering methods (e.g. digitization, circularity, design for maintenance); types of contracts (e.g. performance contracts including maintenance; lease); and processes (e.g. industrialization, prefab, turnkey, circular businesses). These changes are driven by societal needs while only a few innovators and early adopters develop and master solutions, leaving the question open how to accelerate further uptake.
  • Competition between companies: although companies are generally specialized in market segments like residential, offices, schools, hospitals, heating networks etc.. most companies are competing with each other’s in the same markets, which hinders open innovation and knowledge sharing. There seems therefore to be a need for in-company learning, as well as sectoral and cross-sectoral innovation learning. CLIMA congresses, REHVA and its country members are however excellent example of stakeholders joining forces.
  • Maintenance engineers traditionally focus on solving immediate failure problems or system alarms, or complaints from users and facility management. A new business is arising around energy optimization using the ‘big-data’ from Building Management Systems, but to do this, knowledge of data handling and machine learning is needed. This is not offered in current curricula. To solve this problem, data analysts are involved, but they lack knowledge of HVAC systems and cannot interpret the data correctly. Installers sometimes do the detailed design, install HVAC systems and do physical repairs when needed. They bear most legal and financial responsibility when something goes wrong. However, very often they are not aware of the general idea behind the design and tend to focus on components more than on the whole system. However, with performance contracting, their work is also changing.

This long list of challenges emphasizes the growing need for in-company, sectoral and cross-sectoral learning and also questions the role of regular academic, higher professional and vocational education.

Advancing Learning & Education is essential
CLIMA 2022 considers advances in learning & education as being essential to the sector and therefore showcases original contributions from academia and practice demonstrating novel approaches and good practices for sectoral education. We put particular emphasis on training experienced practitioners by for example developing learning communities and online courses to allow learning on the job. Furthermore, we focus on developing new curricula to attract and educate young professionals. We will address in particular:

  • Learning communities: Experiences and challenges in integrating research, education and practice; Novel concepts for faster and more efficient learning on the job; Replicability and potential for up-scaling; Maintenance of learning communities
  • Digital education: Massive open online courses; Integration of alternative educational concepts such as flipped-classroom & blended learning; Digital support for learning on the job; Digital education for
    young professionals; Digital education for experts;
  • Development of curricula: Gateways between vocational and higher education; Knowledge integration & cross sectoral curricula; Gateways between operation and design; Sectoral developments; Role of living-labs.

Finally, there will be an interactive session in which we hope to sketch together with companies and REHVA a possible pathway for future professional education of HVAC engineers.

Read this article in REHVA Journal 2

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CLIMA 2022 is ready to go: inspiring speakers, high-profile presentations and much more

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Line-up of keynote speakers

With their EYE ON 2030, the congress will officially be opened on Sunday by Marjan Minnesma, director of the Urgenda foundation and Roland Bal, Professor at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management. Other keynote speakers are programmed around the 5 congress themes: energy, circularity, health & comfort, digitization and learning & education.

On Monday, Lidia Morawska, director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at QUT, will cover the airborne route transmission of the Coronavirus and the importance of ventilation in the issue at hand. Additionally, Arsen Melikov is professor at the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy and will discuss focus on occupants, energy and airborne cross-infection. Ben van Berkel, Dutch architect; the founder and principal Architect of the international architecture firm UNStudio and UNSense, will discuss sustainable architecture and design.

On Tuesday we will be joined by Lieve Helsen, Professor in Mechanical Engineering (KU Leuven & EnergyVille), leading the Thermal Systems Simulation (The SySi) research group, focusing on modelling, optimal control and optimal design of thermal systems in the built environment. Additionally, Pau Garcia Audi, policy officer at DG Energy will hold a keynote speech on Energy.

On the final day of CLIMA 2022, Clayton Miller will speak on the importance of open data for the development of robust machine learning in the building industry. The final keynote speaker of the congress will be Thomas Auer, managing director of Transsolar, Stuttgart.

Read more about all keynote speakers.

Workshops and other interactive sessions

Conference attendees will be challenged to look beyond regular frontiers in a varied program of workshops and interactive sessions. All workshops are organised by international academic expert groups (Task Forces), European research projects and supporter companies discussing various scientific and technology topics. The 1.5 hours sessions feature short presentations from key academic and industry experts followed by at least half an hour discussion or other interactive group work. Other interactive sessions include discussion forums, seminars and courses.

View the detailed overview of all workshops and interactive sessions.

Latest innovations

In addition to providing an opportunity to share knowledge and inspiration, CLIMA 2022 also provides a platform to innovative companies in the HVAC sector to share their latest developments and solutions. On the exhibition ground, players such as Carrier, Siemens, Halton, Daikin, Georg Fischer and many others will exhibit their game-changers.

Experience Rotterdam and opportunity to meet peers

An extensive social program will give attendees a chance to experience Rotterdam while connecting with peers. Either with an energizing morning run, an informative arranged tour past some of the Netherlands’ famous deltaworks, or a culinary delight at the Rotterdam World Museum – CLIMA 2022 will introduce attendees to new people as well as new experiences.

Discover CLIMA’s social program.

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Circularity: narrowing, slowing and closing flows

All newsCircularityScientific
Article from REHVA Journal 2, 2022 – Laure Itard & Christian Struck An unusual theme for a CLIMA Congress, generally striving to technical advances. A focus on education, though, has always been present at CLIMA congresses with REHVA courses, student competitions and attention to new handbooks and guidelines. For CLIMA2022 we have chosen to also include dedicated sessions about learning and education, as we feel the societal challenges are becoming urgent, think about the energy transition, digitization, lack of workforce and the potential impact of online learning. The HVAC sector changes rapidly The European targets with respect to the energy transition in the built environment are huge. To realize the transition towards and CO2 neutral and circular build environment by 2050, upscaling of solutions is urgently needed. Dissemination of technical innovations and proven knowledge and approaches is needed. The building services sector is a main sector to realize this transition: next to delivering the workforce for designing, placing and maintaining all energy and indoor climate equipment in buildings and neighbourhoods, the sector also acts as innovator and as a pivot between the sectors of construction, energy, health and IT & data analytics, integrating knowledge from these fields. Rapid changes in energy and HVAC engineering techniques and systems and in business models, contracts and processes make it necessary to accelerate the uptake of knowledge in these areas. Continuous professional development of the current workforce and the education of new employees is therefore necessary. Educational challenges in the HVAC Sector are broad Educational challenges have been identified in several studies like the European BuildUpSkills project. Dealing with these challenges have become even more important because they are decisive in realizing the targets of the energy transition. In detail relevant challenges include the following:
  • Increased need for professional workforce: There are too few people working in the sector to realize the energy transition. A shortage of 3 000 workers per year is given for the Dutch sector. This has implications related to the education of new employees, mainly having no background in building or energy engineering services.
  • Slow uptake of basic and integrated knowledge: the main challenges here relate to previous point and are how to accelerate and improve the uptake of knowledge inside the company. For instance from senior to junior and vice-versa; cross-specialism (e.g. from electrical to mechanical; from design departments to maintenance departments), balancing between innovation, risk management, lack of time and workforce.
  • There are a few domains where in-depth knowledge has shifted from designers to producers of components, like is the case with hydraulic appendages, hydraulic design or system controls. How to take care thatknowledge at the system level increases?
  • Rapid change of technologies and related knowledge: The sector is facing rapid changes in energy techniques (e.g. all electric instead of gas-driven; low temperature heating networks, integration of heating and electrical networks, NZEB buildings); engineering methods (e.g. digitization, circularity, design for maintenance); types of contracts (e.g. performance contracts including maintenance; lease); and processes (e.g. industrialization, prefab, turnkey, circular businesses). These changes are driven by societal needs while only a few innovators and early adopters develop and master solutions, leaving the question open how to accelerate further uptake.
  • Competition between companies: although companies are generally specialized in market segments like residential, offices, schools, hospitals, heating networks etc.. most companies are competing with each other’s in the same markets, which hinders open innovation and knowledge sharing. There seems therefore to be a need for in-company learning, as well as sectoral and cross-sectoral innovation learning. CLIMA congresses, REHVA and its country members are however excellent example of stakeholders joining forces.
  • Maintenance engineers traditionally focus on solving immediate failure problems or system alarms, or complaints from users and facility management. A new business is arising around energy optimization using the ‘big-data’ from Building Management Systems, but to do this, knowledge of data handling and machine learning is needed. This is not offered in current curricula. To solve this problem, data analysts are involved, but they lack knowledge of HVAC systems and cannot interpret the data correctly. Installers sometimes do the detailed design, install HVAC systems and do physical repairs when needed. They bear most legal and financial responsibility when something goes wrong. However, very often they are not aware of the general idea behind the design and tend to focus on components more than on the whole system. However, with performance contracting, their work is also changing.
This long list of challenges emphasizes the growing need for in-company, sectoral and cross-sectoral learning and also questions the role of regular academic, higher professional and vocational education. Advancing Learning & Education is essential CLIMA 2022 considers advances in learning & education as being essential to the sector and therefore showcases original contributions from academia and practice demonstrating novel approaches and good practices for sectoral education. We put particular emphasis on training experienced practitioners by for example developing learning communities and online courses to allow learning on the job. Furthermore, we focus on developing new curricula to attract and educate young professionals. We will address in particular:
  • Learning communities: Experiences and challenges in integrating research, education and practice; Novel concepts for faster and more efficient learning on the job; Replicability and potential for up-scaling; Maintenance of learning communities
  • Digital education: Massive open online courses; Integration of alternative educational concepts such as flipped-classroom & blended learning; Digital support for learning on the job; Digital education for young professionals; Digital education for experts;
  • Development of curricula: Gateways between vocational and higher education; Knowledge integration & cross sectoral curricula; Gateways between operation and design; Sectoral developments; Role of living-labs.
Finally, there will be an interactive session in which we hope to sketch together with companies and REHVA a possible pathway for future professional education of HVAC engineers. Read this article in REHVA Journal 2

Article from REHVA Journal 1, 2022 – Dr. ing. Olaf Oosting, managing Director at Valstar Simonis; Dr. ing. Tillmann Klein, circularity expert at Delft University of Technology; Dr. ing. Bob Geldermans, Building Product Innovation Professor at Delft University of Technology.

Due to a globally growing population and the need for comfortable and healthy indoor environments, a huge building challenge lies ahead of us, mainly related to the development of new building projects and the need to upgrade the existing building stock. To ensure a future-proof, sustainable economy for future generations, reducting the use of primary resources is essential. Therefore, there is a need for a shift from linear to circular systems. Circularity aims at narrowing, slowing and/or closing material, water, and energy flows (Boeken et al. 2015).

The HVAC sector certainly has great potential to contribute to circularity. Cydes of energy, air and water f1ows form the core business. Service installations and components are often subject to maintenance or replacement. Here, the preservation and reuse of valuable components offer considerable opportunities, both from an environmental point of view and from a user comfort and business perspective.

The mentioned opportunities and benefits have, at least for the time being, not translated into a large-scale market breakthrough. The sector needs a clear vision on realising circularity targets, based on innovative strategies and an integrated approach on the area of circular design, product technology, business models and administration & management. Few examples of these four strategies, are as follows.

Examples of circular design: Design for disassembly; Product life cycle strategies; Product functionality; Building design; Environmental assessment of circular components.

With the CSP Panel (particular PCM panel), PCM Technology has introduced a phase change material with Cradle to Cradle Silver certification to the market (Source: CZCCertified.org). Phase change materials either store heat or release it, when their physical condition changes, allowing them to generate more consistent room temperatures. The panels are built into walls or ceiling surfaces.

To attain the CZC Silver certification, the entire production process of the CSP Panel has been checked for health aspects and reusability of the material, as well as for (green) energy use, water use and social justice. Circularity is therefore part of an integral methodology.

Examples of product technology: Biological, technical and critical materials; Reuse and remanufacturing of components; Circular maintenance; Product and material tracking; Sandards and regulations

Since 2018 Carrier has been committed to setting up and tracking material passports for (a series of) air heat pumps. This venture immediately showed how complex the issue can be for installation components. The process took a considerable time, partly as a result of the long supply chain, the complexity of the products or the quantity and materials and origin.

Unlike a concrete shell or wooden frame, an installation component consists of a large variety of materials. Taking stock of these materials offers the possibility of generating a dettailed LCA and thus providing products with better labesl in the  National Environmental Database (NMD). Most installation products in the NMD have a so-called generic category 3 label. This entails a conservative estimate of the LCA and an additional penalty of 30% to ensure that the results are not presented too positively. Within the framework of the MPG requirement, which has been tightened since 1 July 2021, imroving data quality is therefore an attractive circular initiative and a basis for creating circular awareness.

A second example that contributes to increasing awareness and defining materials and raw materials, is Madaster (see www.madaster.com|), the so-called registry for materials. Madaster offers a platform to record and store properties, quantities, locations and characteristics in a structured way.

Examples of business models: Value proposition; Total cost of ownership; Total benefits of ownership; Legal and safety aspects; New models of ownership; Strategies for product services

One of the best-known examples in the field of installation technology that is provided ‘As a Service’ is ‘Light as a Service’, where Philips Lighting (now Signify) was the first party to offer light instead of lighting. Philips remains the owner of the LED lighting fixtures and lamps and charges an amount per quantity lux or burning hours delivered.

Also, the first ‘Lift as a Service’ concept was delivered in Circl, the ABN Ambro pavilioin on Zuidas in Amsterdam. Here, Mitsubishi launched its M-Use concept. It is a circular model for lifts, which charges for use rather than a traditional purchase and maintanance subscription.

This ‘product as a service’ model avoids high investment costs for the customer, and reuse and recycling are the priority at the end of the lift’s service life. The handling of materials and effective lift maintenance can therefore lead to a longer service life compared to bought lifts, which in turn can contribute to the strategy of delai. The well-known principle of an Energy Service Company (ESCo) can also be described as a Heat As A Service proposition. The big difference here, however, is that an ESCo is rarely, if ever, the producer of the products and thus differs from the regular As a Service proposition.

Examples of administration & Management: Supply chain management; Reverse logistics; Engagement of stakeholders; Responsibility of producer responsibility; Business operations, facilities and resources; Policy

In October 2018, Grundfos and Technische Unie took the initiative to collect old pumps for recycling. Collecting the pumps is a start to realising a circular production process. The take-back strategy that the parties have set up together has reduced the material impact, as materals taken from the pumps are no longer destroyed.

Old pumps were previously partially recycled at a traditional waste disposal facility. But here, not all the material from the pumps could be reused. By choosing to take back and reus and/or recycle the pumps, the percentage of reused material from these old pumps is over 97%. That is 10% more than with a traditional waste management company. Wilo has also developed a similar programme, where the look at each pump to decide which parts can be reused or recycled. In 2020, for example, 223,000 magnets had been reused, according to the company. They do this, on the one hand, to avoid limiting the quantity of primary raw materials and, on the other hand, to ensure the quality of the supply of raw materials. Both are concrete examples of the closing and regeneration strategy.

Read this article in REHVA Journal 1

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Buildings and systems must show resilience in the long and short term

All newsHealth & comfortScientific
Article from REHVA Journal 2, 2022 – Laure Itard & Christian Struck An unusual theme for a CLIMA Congress, generally striving to technical advances. A focus on education, though, has always been present at CLIMA congresses with REHVA courses, student competitions and attention to new handbooks and guidelines. For CLIMA2022 we have chosen to also include dedicated sessions about learning and education, as we feel the societal challenges are becoming urgent, think about the energy transition, digitization, lack of workforce and the potential impact of online learning. The HVAC sector changes rapidly The European targets with respect to the energy transition in the built environment are huge. To realize the transition towards and CO2 neutral and circular build environment by 2050, upscaling of solutions is urgently needed. Dissemination of technical innovations and proven knowledge and approaches is needed. The building services sector is a main sector to realize this transition: next to delivering the workforce for designing, placing and maintaining all energy and indoor climate equipment in buildings and neighbourhoods, the sector also acts as innovator and as a pivot between the sectors of construction, energy, health and IT & data analytics, integrating knowledge from these fields. Rapid changes in energy and HVAC engineering techniques and systems and in business models, contracts and processes make it necessary to accelerate the uptake of knowledge in these areas. Continuous professional development of the current workforce and the education of new employees is therefore necessary. Educational challenges in the HVAC Sector are broad Educational challenges have been identified in several studies like the European BuildUpSkills project. Dealing with these challenges have become even more important because they are decisive in realizing the targets of the energy transition. In detail relevant challenges include the following:
  • Increased need for professional workforce: There are too few people working in the sector to realize the energy transition. A shortage of 3 000 workers per year is given for the Dutch sector. This has implications related to the education of new employees, mainly having no background in building or energy engineering services.
  • Slow uptake of basic and integrated knowledge: the main challenges here relate to previous point and are how to accelerate and improve the uptake of knowledge inside the company. For instance from senior to junior and vice-versa; cross-specialism (e.g. from electrical to mechanical; from design departments to maintenance departments), balancing between innovation, risk management, lack of time and workforce.
  • There are a few domains where in-depth knowledge has shifted from designers to producers of components, like is the case with hydraulic appendages, hydraulic design or system controls. How to take care thatknowledge at the system level increases?
  • Rapid change of technologies and related knowledge: The sector is facing rapid changes in energy techniques (e.g. all electric instead of gas-driven; low temperature heating networks, integration of heating and electrical networks, NZEB buildings); engineering methods (e.g. digitization, circularity, design for maintenance); types of contracts (e.g. performance contracts including maintenance; lease); and processes (e.g. industrialization, prefab, turnkey, circular businesses). These changes are driven by societal needs while only a few innovators and early adopters develop and master solutions, leaving the question open how to accelerate further uptake.
  • Competition between companies: although companies are generally specialized in market segments like residential, offices, schools, hospitals, heating networks etc.. most companies are competing with each other’s in the same markets, which hinders open innovation and knowledge sharing. There seems therefore to be a need for in-company learning, as well as sectoral and cross-sectoral innovation learning. CLIMA congresses, REHVA and its country members are however excellent example of stakeholders joining forces.
  • Maintenance engineers traditionally focus on solving immediate failure problems or system alarms, or complaints from users and facility management. A new business is arising around energy optimization using the ‘big-data’ from Building Management Systems, but to do this, knowledge of data handling and machine learning is needed. This is not offered in current curricula. To solve this problem, data analysts are involved, but they lack knowledge of HVAC systems and cannot interpret the data correctly. Installers sometimes do the detailed design, install HVAC systems and do physical repairs when needed. They bear most legal and financial responsibility when something goes wrong. However, very often they are not aware of the general idea behind the design and tend to focus on components more than on the whole system. However, with performance contracting, their work is also changing.
This long list of challenges emphasizes the growing need for in-company, sectoral and cross-sectoral learning and also questions the role of regular academic, higher professional and vocational education. Advancing Learning & Education is essential CLIMA 2022 considers advances in learning & education as being essential to the sector and therefore showcases original contributions from academia and practice demonstrating novel approaches and good practices for sectoral education. We put particular emphasis on training experienced practitioners by for example developing learning communities and online courses to allow learning on the job. Furthermore, we focus on developing new curricula to attract and educate young professionals. We will address in particular:
  • Learning communities: Experiences and challenges in integrating research, education and practice; Novel concepts for faster and more efficient learning on the job; Replicability and potential for up-scaling; Maintenance of learning communities
  • Digital education: Massive open online courses; Integration of alternative educational concepts such as flipped-classroom & blended learning; Digital support for learning on the job; Digital education for young professionals; Digital education for experts;
  • Development of curricula: Gateways between vocational and higher education; Knowledge integration & cross sectoral curricula; Gateways between operation and design; Sectoral developments; Role of living-labs.
Finally, there will be an interactive session in which we hope to sketch together with companies and REHVA a possible pathway for future professional education of HVAC engineers. Read this article in REHVA Journal 2

Article from REHVA Journal 1, 2022 – Prof. dr. Philomena M. Bluyssen, Delft University of Technology; Dr. AnneMarie Eijkelenboom, EGM Architecten

Health and comfort of people in the built environment, at home, at work, at school, commuting or during leisure time is a complex matter involving physics, behaviour, physiology, energy use, climate change, architecture, engineering, and technology. The way people feel, experience, and behave is related to the quality of their environment, described by the thermal, air, light and sound qualities. In addition, the resilience of buildings and systems to changing demands and preferences and the ability of people to respond to new buildings and systems affect their perception and behaviour. 

Studies worldwide show that relationships between the indoor environmental conditions (thermal aspects, indoor air quality, light and sound) and well-being (health and comfort) of occupants of office buildings, schools, homes, and hospitals are complex, and not easy to unravel. There are many indoor environmental stressors that can affect health and comfort either additively or through complex interactions. These include thermal aspects (e.g., draught, temperature), visual aspects (e.g., reflection, view, luminance ratios), air quality (e.g., odours, moisture, mould, radioactive radiation, chemical compounds, particulates), and acoustical aspects (e.g., noise and vibration). There are many diseases and disorders related to staying indoors, such as mental illnesses, obesity, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases (think of asthma in children and COPD in adults), cancer, and COVID-19. The COVID pandemic has shown that buildings and systems must be able to provide a resilient environment not only in the long term (with regards to climate change) but also in the short term (during a pandemic, for example).

Ventilation to reduce infectious diseases
If we assume that airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a serious route of transmission, it is clear that it is not just a question of how much ventilation is required, but also how to ventilate in different situations. ‘Good’ or proper ventilation means, first of all, to provide sufficient and effective ventilation. Ventilation that ensures the supply of ‘clean’ air and exhaust of polluted (infected) air from the breathing zone of each individual person. Preferably, without passing through the breathing zones of other persons, and without recirculation (reusing) of air. If general ventilation is not enough or recirculation cannot be avoided, air cleaning is an option.

How much ventilation is needed? This is not an easy question to answer. Current guidelines for spaces occupied by multiple persons are based on the CO2 concentration in the air. CO2 is used as an indicator for the presence of people. With each breath, CO2 is exhaled. However, it is not clear whether CO2 is a good indicator for exhaled ‘infectious’ aerosols, because CO2 is a gas, and exhaled droplets and aerosols are not. This raises many questions about the correct methods for determining threshold limit values for the amount of ventilation. Do aerosols and exhaled droplets behave like gases or do they behave differently? Are there other models we can use if CO2 is not a good indicator for exhaled infectious aerosols?

Indoor environmental quality in energy-efficient & refurbished buildings
In addition, we must not forget that ‘infectious’ aerosols are not the only possible pollutants present in a space. The debate about other sources of pollution than the presence of people in a space has been going on for a long time, such as emissions of building and furnishing materials, outdoor air pollutants, or pollutants from poorly maintained ventilation systems, as well as all those volatile organic compounds and particles that are released during the activities that we carry out in our homes, offices or other buildings. We must also consider the effects that measures taken to improve ventilation may have on other aspects of the indoor environment. Think about how opening a window introduces outside noise and allows cold air to flow inside. Last winter, many children at school sat in chilly classrooms with all the windows and doors open to get as much fresh air as possible. There were also more problems with noise, caused by the airflow in the supply ducts, because systems were running at their maximum. Moreover, draughts can occur if the supply grilles are not properly adjusted.

In addition, research shows that buildings renovated to address climate change can pose a serious risk to the health and comfort of their occupants. Respiratory, eye and skin problems can occur as a result of certain renovation measures. Insulating and making our buildings airtight can lead to moisture problems, build-up of air pollutants, lack of control, noise and/or overheating. HVAC-systems, although efficient, can cause air pollution, draught, and noise.

Research also shows that such measures do not always yield the desired energy savings. This is partly due to the residents and their behaviour, and partly due to the technologies used and their feedback systems. When renovating energy-efficiently, it is therefore important to take into account the preferences and needs of the occupants.

Flexible systems and climate-resistant buildings
It is important to re-think the way we ventilate, specifically for indoor areas with a hogh density of people during a long period of shared time, such as in classrooms, landscape offices, restaurants, nursing homes, theatres, sports clubs, etc. The new generation of ventilation systems should not just focus on ventilating a space but should offer a range of options so that the changing demands of occupants over time can be met, be it for health or comfort. Flexibility is therefore the key. The COVID pandemic has shown us that more knowledge is needed about the way potential pathogens spread within buildings, about the best conditions and ways to fight infections, as well as ways to create affordable, flexible, energy-efficient, and effective ventilation. The need for related research is obvious. Collaboration between different disciplines, such as epidemiologists, virologists, aerosol experts, structural engineers, architects, psychologists, sociologists, and mechanical engineers is indispensable. The fight against future diseases will have to be taken up together with the challenges that climate change poses to the built environment.

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Professor Lieve Helsen keynote speaker theme Energy

All newsEnergyProgramScientific

We are so excited to annnounce that Lieve Helsen will be joining us as keynote speaker for theme Energy. Helsen is Professor in Mechanical Engineering (KU Leuven & EnergyVille), leading the Thermal Systems Simulation (The SySi) research group, focusing on modelling, optimal control and optimal design of thermal systems in the built environment. As chairwoman Lieve established the Flanders Heat Pump Platform in 2008 and organised multiple highly-attended local Heat Pump Symposia that stimulated interaction between researchers and practitioners. In 2021 she acted as Conference Chair of the 17th International Building Simulation Conference of IBPSA in Bruges. She is member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, ODE Board of Directors, IBPSA-NVL, ATIC, IEA-HPT, EHPA, the Steering Group of the Flanders Heat Pump Platform, the International Scientific Committee of the ZEN Center at NTNU and UCEEB at TUPrague, core-member of EnergyVille, spokesperson of Moonshot Energy Innovation Core Team and nominated as member of AcademiaNet, which is The Portal to Excellent Women Academics.

The subject of Helsen’s speech on Tuesday, May 24th will be: Towards net zero CO2 emission in the built environment – a system of systems approach.

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Dr. Arsen Melikov keynote speaker theme Health & Comfort

All newsHealth & comfortProgramScientific

We are proud to announce Dr. Arsen Melikov as keynote lecturer theme Health & Comfort. Melikov, Fellow ASHRAE, Fellow ISIAQ, is professor at the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark. His teaching and research areas cover advanced air distribution in rooms and vehicle compartments, airborne cross-infection, impact of indoor environment on people’s health, comfort and performance, personally controlled environment, heat and mass transfer, indoor climate measurements and instruments. The results of his research are included in engineering handbooks and guidelines as well as in International, European and national standards. He has been principle investigator of 60 research projects sponsored by government and private organizations in numerous countries. New HVAC technologies and measuring instruments have been developed based on his collaboration with industry. He has supervised 30 PhD students and more than 110 MSc students. Prof. Melikov is author and co-author of more than 400 scientific papers published in 15 languages. He has given 60 invited lectures. He has received numerous awards, including the Rydberg Gould Medal of The Scandinavian Federation of Heating, Ventilation and Sanitary Engineering Associations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden .

Dr. Melikov will give a presentation on Monday, May 23rd with the title: Focus on occupants, energy and airborne cross-infection: paradigm shift in ventilation is needed!!

 

Check the preliminary program

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Digitization of the installation sector: Towards predictive smart buildings!

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Article from REHVA Journal 6, 2021 – Jan Kerdèl, senior consultant, Kerdèl Business Development; Pieter Pauwels, dr. Ir.-arch, TU Eindhoven

The installation sector is digitalising! As in the rest of the building industry, systems digitization and innovation have an increasing impact on the HVAC and installation sector. Far-reaching evolutions towards ‘digital twins’ and ‘smart buildings’, including predictive maintenance strategies and centrally linked systems, mean that the installation sector faces the next wave of digitization, or rather an AI (r)evolution.

Partly for this reason, ‘digitization’ is an important topic at the upcoming REHVA World Congress CLIMA 2022, the leading international scientific congress in the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). The congress is organised every three years by one of the member associations of REHVA. The upcoming edition will be organised by TVVL in the Netherlands, in cooperation with Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology. In addition to Digitization, CLIMA 2022 also covers the topics of Energy, Circularity, Health & Comfort, and Education.

How will current demands and influences evolve until 2030? What insights will we gain? How do the topics relate to each other? Will they reinforce each other or slow each other down? And how does the impact of climate systems relate to the building process and other influencing factors? What kind of teaching and learning is needed? With these questions in mind, CLIMA 2022 will have its EYE ON 2030.

Digitization is, therefore, an important topic at CLIMA 2022. However, typically digitization is not a stand-alone topic: it is often part of larger issues. No doubt other conference topics will use digitization to carry out complex research or solve certain issues. Digitization also plays an undeniable role in the design and operation of installations. And here, too, it typically serves specific purposes (e.g. system optimisation). In the following we provide a brief overview of the most important developments of this form of digitization for the HVAC sector.

Digitization
Digital solutions that stimulate the energy transition in the built environment are a crucial topic. In many companies and organisations, solutions in the field of (predictive) digital twinning, data-driven smart buildings, data management, and continuous commissioning are high on the agenda.

Nowadays, digital solutions must be able to handle a wide range of HVAC systems and be self-learning in detecting trends and process deviations. While current systems often concentrate on monitoring, it is becoming clear that the future lies in predictive planning of interventions based on recommendations from an Al system.

It is expected that in an actual, physical building (physical twin in Fig. 1), several sensors and actuators will actively monitor data. In this environment, monitoring and surveillance are therefore carried out in a data-driven manner. On the other hand, the digital side means a virtual model (digital twin) that is usually strongly model-based. An information model and/or prediction model (e.g. neural network) is digitally available, including a number of simulated scenarios. These are compared to the input from the data-driven physical twin. Such comparisons make it possible to work on prediction, fault detection and self-learning (Fig. 1). In this way, model-based and data-driven approaches are combined, making for a powerful potential resource and important Al research topic, that can also be employed for HVAC systems.

The above-mentioned ambitions put the evolution towards dynamic HVAC systems under digitization pressure. Stand-alone or integrated solutions are possible, and a system and environment as shown in Fig. 1 is certainly achievable and already a reality in several places. However, there are some important preconditions or even obstacles for placing such systems on the market in a scalable way (performance, cost, speed):

  • System architectures must be able to cope with large-scale implementation with various hardware (wired and wireless solutions, loT, cloud solutions, blockchain technologies), and at the same time, they must be flexible to continuously accommodate change (additional sensors, new users, change of provider, etc.).
  • In addition to these large-scale and flexible infrastructures, the world of smart buildings also requires monitoring strategies that bridge the gap between building automation and control systems (BACS) and building information modelling (BIM) tools.
  • Also, the recent COVID pandemic has led to research into digital-oriented design, monitoring and control of ventilation systems related to general comfort and health. This includes machine learning (ML) algorithms for fault detection and diagnosis, pattern recognition and anomaly detection: training a model based on sensor data; model-based prediction; intervention in the building system.

With the above evolutions in the HVAC field, the lifecycle costs of a building are expected to be easier to control, the comfort of the occupant or user will improve, and the system will be easier to monitor and maintain.

Building management systems for energy performance innovations are a prerequisite for better performing buildings. These are buildings that adapt to the changing climate, provide optimum comfort in an intelligent manner and, ideally, also produce energy (net positive buildings). The innovations are primarily expected from the building management system (BMS), which maintains a central reference point for a specific building (model-based and data-driven – Fig. 1). Based on this, a building management system can actively carry out interventions in the building.

Positive energy should also become possible in the field of energy management for buildings. Solutions in this direction are expected in the areas of (predictive) digital twinning and data-driven smart buildings, in which building performance is monitored and displayed in real time through dashboards that relate building data and measured values (time series). Recent developments link this to information models and metadata standards for data management such as the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), Linked Building Data (LBD), Brick, and Haystack.

The latest developments are:

  • Energy transition measures for existing buildings
  • Net positive building developments
  • Building performance monitoring with digital twins
  • Data-driven smart buildings: monitoring based on time series data
  • Linked building data for digital twinning (LBD, Brick, Haystack, etc.)

 

Design for automation: from SIM models to BACS
Typically, there is a Building Information Model or BIM model available for modern buildings. Such a semantic 3D model allows architects, engineers and building professionals to plan, design, build and manage a building better and more efficiently. However, the BIM model is usually limited to the design and construction phase. This means that valuable information in the operational phase is either collected by another dedicated management system or (not infrequently) lost.

Research and development are trying to close the gap that still exists between BIM and Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS). The information available in the BIM design model could form an excellent basis for the start-up and design of the control technology in a BACS. Since the orientation of the building, the use of space, the intended use and the desired comfort classes are known, SIM routines could be developed to suggest BACS solutions and control strategies. Monitoring strategies should follow to maintain quality and control costs throughout the lifecycle. Hereby, information from SIM models can become a basic reference for cost control over the lifecycle of a building.

 

The latest developments:

  • BIM for indoor climate control design
  • Building automation design from BIM environments (BIM & BACS)
  • Automation of maintenance and monitoring: self-sufficient buildings
  • From data to decision-making: standards and best practices
  • Facility management design
  • Digitization of design and engineering of HVAC installations

 

HVAC control and health monitoring
Particularly after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, much research has focused on rethinking ventilation strategies and their design, monitoring and control. This leads to an intensive research project on the role of ventilation in comfort and health monitoring in a building. Within Clima2022, several contributions are expected around the digitization-focused research on the design, monitoring and control of ventilation in a building in case of a pandemic.

Furthermore, the use of Al techniques for this purpose is encouraged, in particular the use of Al algorithms for fault detection and diagnosis, but also pattern recognition and anomaly detection in building use and HVAC systems. It is important to use these digital technologies for critical control and risk mitigation strategies, rather than signaling every minimal error or deviation within tolerances.

Rather than displaying all available information, the key question is how these techniques can be used to proactively predict where and how systems will fail and how this risk can be mitigated.

 

The latest developments are:

  • Ventilation strategies in pandemics (design, monitoring, control)
  • Health and comfort monitoring
  • Pattern recognition and anomaly detection in building use
  • Algorithms for fault detection and diagnosis
  • AI for critical control and risk mitigation strategies (proactive vs. reactive)

 

Integration in existing buildings: Upgrade of buildings
Buildings and the energy infrastructure are undergoing a transition to a carbon-free society by the year 2050 (Paris Agreement 2015). The approach differs from country to country: in countries with a temperate climate, the building envelope is often of insufficient quality and requires renovation or upgrading. In addition, low temperature (LT) heating and cooling solutions are often implemented, even though they are more sensitive to failures. In order to deploy these systems appropriately and make renovation possible, large-scale monitoring at an affordable cost must be developed to continuously monitor commercial buildings.

Research on this topic typically focuses on the process of building improvement and poses new challenges for building management; this topic is thus also expected to be discussed at Clima 2022. Solutions must be able to handle a wide range of HVAC systems and be self-learning in detecting trends and process deviations. In renovating and implementing systems, system architectures must include large-scale implementation. Both wired and wireless solutions are possible, and in the case of implementing loT in a renovated building, a professional approach to loT (lIoT as a quality standard) is recommended (lowest risk level).

The latest developments are:

  • loT and industrial loT
  • Cloud solutions for building management (e.g. Kubernetes, MS Azure)
  • Security, control and authorisation in cloud-based BMS systems
  • Edge computing: on-device computing for building automation
  • LoRa and LoRaWAN: training connected and loT devices
  • Local area networks, WiFi networks and 5G networks in embedded infrastructure

 

Read this article in REHVA Journal 6

 

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European transformation of the energy system

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Article from REHVA Journal 5, 2021 – Em. prof. dr. ir. J.L.M. (Jan) Hensen and drs. J.J. (Jan Jaap) Blüm, CLIMA 2022 topic coordinators Energy

 

CLIMA 2022 is an international congress with energy concerning plant engineering as one of the main topics. To become climate neutral by 2050, Europe must transform its energy system (which accounts for 75% of EU greenhouse gas emissions). The recently adopted EU plans/strategies to integrate energy systems (European Green Deal and NextGenerationEU) must pave the way for a more efficient and interconnected energy sector, driven by the double goal of a cleaner planet and a stronger economy.

The EU strategy for energy system integration will provide the framework for the transition to green energy. The current situation is based on separate energy systems (silos) with different vertical value chains that coexist and closely link energy sources to their specific end-users, e.g. petroleum products as fuel for the transport sector. This model cannot achieve climate neutrality cost-effectively by 2050; the changing costs of innovative solutions must be integrated into the way we operate our energy system. New connections between sectors must be created, and technological advances must be exploited.

Energy system integration means planning and managing the system as a whole, based on the interconnectedness of different energy carriers, infrastructures, and sectors of consumption. Such an interconnected and flexible system will be more efficient and will reduce costs for society. It could, for example, be a system where the electricity for electric cars comes from solar panels on roofs, while buildings are heated with waste heat from a nearby factory, and factories are powered by green hydrogen produced from offshore wind energy.

Short-term political goals and challenges
Firstly, a more ‘circular’ energy system, with energy efficiency at its core. The strategy will identify concrete actions to put the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle into practice and use local energy sources more effectively in our buildings or neighbourhoods. There is signifi[1]cant potential in reusing waste heat from industry, data centres or other sources, and energy produced from bio-waste or in wastewater treatment plants. The ‘Renovatieversneller’ (a Renovation-accelerator, a Dutch governmental initiative to subsidise sustain[1]able restoration projects) will be an important part of these reforms.

Secondly, greater direct electrification of end-use sectors. Because the energy sector has the largest share of renewable energy sources, we need to use more and more electricity wherever possible: for example, for heat pumps in buildings, electric vehicles in transport or electric furnaces in certain industries. A network of one million charging points for electric vehicles will be among the most visible results, along with the increase in solar and wind power.

For those sectors where electrification is difficult, the strategy promotes clean fuels, including renewable hydrogen and sustainable biofuels and biogas. The EU Commission will make a new proposal for a clas[1]sification and certification system for renewable and low-carbon fuels.

The EU strategy comprises 38 actions to create a more integrated energy system. These include the revision of existing legislation, financial support, research and application of new technologies and digital tools, directives for the Member States on fiscal measures and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, reform of the market governance and infrastructure planning, and improved consumer information. An analysis of the existing obstacles in these areas will be used for concrete proposals, for example, the revision of the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) regula[1]tion or the revision of the energy taxation directive and the regulatory framework for the gas market.

CLIMA 2022 focuses on the relationship between the above and the installation technology sector. The development of building management systems that use heat, cold and electricity from renewable sources is accelerating, creating a need for flexibility and, therefore, energy storage and energy exchange between buildings. In addition, there is a need for innovative HVAC products and performance opti[1]misation through improved design, operation and maintenance of the various integrated mechanical and electrical subsystems. Typically, this includes reducing and balancing energy needs for heating, cooling and ventilation. While this is not exactly trivial in the case of new buildings, it poses enormous technical, social, economic and political challenges for existing buildings.

It is evident that solutions differ from country to country. Exchanging experiences and learning from each other are the main objectives of CLIMA 2022. This is not limited to the technical aspects but includes economic, cultural, legal and organisational aspects. The overall energy system becomes more dynamic and is influenced by additional actors with non-traditional roles. When houses become small power plants, when large building complexes start to exchange energy, or when smart data companies control energy con[1]sumption, the government, grid operators, energy companies, financial institutions, and our sector must respond.

CLIMA 2022, therefore, welcomes original contri[1]butions that introduce, share, broaden and improve scientific and practical knowledge and experience on the following sub-topics:

• Renewable and smart energy solutions for buildings and sites: energy storage; energy exchange; energy flexibility; renewable energy production;
• Designing innovative HVAC systems for optimised operational performance: high-performance HVAC systems and components; smart technologies; opti[1]mised control; optimised maintenance; data-driven operation; digital twins; reducing and balancing the energy demand in buildings: energy transition; technological breakthroughs in insulation; ventila[1]tion; shading; systemic innovations;
• Legislation, business models and shifting responsi[1]bilities: new legislation; public-private partnerships; market initiatives; new business models; new players in the energy market.


Read this article in REHVA Journal 5

 

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14th REHVA HVAC World Congress has its EYE ON 2030

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Article from REHVA Journal 3, 2021 – by Laure Itard (Delft University of Technology(TUD)), Lada Hensen Centnerová (Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)),  Atze Boerstra (TUD & CEO BBA Binnenmilieu)

 

EYE ON 2030
The 14th REHVA HVAC World Congress CLIMA 2022 (22-25 May 2022, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) challenges advances in technologies and standards for a smart energy transition, digitization, circularity and, most important, people’s well-being and health in buildings.

  • How can we create circular buildings, fully heated, cooled and powered by renewable energy?
  • How can we design human-centered indoor environments while mastering life-cycle costs?
  • Systems and techniques are changing rapidly, and more people must be educated to realize this transition. How can we accelerate the uptake and sharing of knowledge in our sector?

The focus is on buildings, the occupants, and the energy and comfort & indoor climate systems. It also includes integration into infrastructures for energy, health, data and education. 

The challenges relating to energy transition, healthy buildings, digitization, circularity and learning are enormous and we need new perspectives, and integration of perspectives. This REHVA World Congress is yours, let’s build the future together!

Call for abstracts
The call for abstracts, which was open until June 18, has been extended until September 15 2021, to answer the demand of many academics and professionals. Contributions may be scientific and technical papers, interactive sessions (discussion forums, seminars/webinars and courses) and invited sponsored CLIMA workshops. Submit your abstract as soon as possible!

 

Submit abstract

 

All accepted papers will be compiled into the Digital Conference Proceedings. Agreements are also being made for additional publications in indexed journals.

Exciting mix
Building on a long and fruitful tradition of REHVA World congresses bringing professionals, policy makers  and researchers together in an enthusiastic and energizing environment, CLIMA 2022 will enable you to discuss the latest insights in science, technology and standardization  and find answers to the questions society and our sector are dealing with. The congress will consist of a mixture of keynote speakers, scientific and technical sessions as well as interactive sessions, student activities, technical tours and sponsored REHVA workshops. Executive  Scientific Committee members Marcel Loomans (TU/e), Martin Tenpierik (TUD), Froukje van Dijken (bba- binnenmilieu) and Lada Hensen Centnerová (TU/e) are working on an exciting mix of COVID-19-proof sessions – both in-person and online, with a lot of attention to interaction in discussion forums, webinars & seminars and courses, for which you can also submit an abstract.

For each of the congress themes, the executive scientific organization is in hands of a tandem representing both academia and HVAC professionals.


Theme 1: Energy
Prof. Jan Hensen (TU/e) & Jan Jaap Blüm (CEO at Alba Concept): ‘CLIMA 2022 considers fossil-free energy use in the built environment of vital importance. Development of building services systems using heat, cold and electricity from renewable resources is accelerating, creating a need for flexibility and therefore for energy storage and inter-building energy exchanges. Following this there is also a need for innovative HVAC products  and for performance optimization via improved design, operation and maintenance of the various integrated mechanical and electrical sub-systems. This typically includes reduction and balancing of the energy demands for heating, cooling and ventilation. While this is not exactly trivial in new buildings, it poses huge technical, social, economic and political challenges for existing buildings. Obviously the solutions will vary across countries. Exchanging experiences and learning from each other are the main objectives of CLIMA 2022. This is not limited to the technical aspects, but also includes economic, cultural, juridical and organizational aspects. The overall energy system is becoming more dynamic and is influenced by additional actors with non-traditional roles.  When homes become small energy plants, or when large building complexes start to exchange energy, or when smart data companies control energy consumption,  then the government, grid operators, energy companies, financial institutions and our sector need to respond.’

 

CLIMA 2022 therefore welcomes original contributions that introduce, share, broaden and improve scientific and practical knowledge and experiences in these areas:

  • Renewable and smart energy solutions for buildings and sites
  • Design of Innovative HVAC systems for optimized operational performances
  • Reduction and balancing of building energy demand:
  • Legislation, business models and shifting responsibilities


Theme 2: Digitization
Associate Prof. Pieter Pauwels (TU/e) & Jan Kerdèl (Senior consultant Building Automation at  Kerdèl Business Development): ‘CLIMA 2022 considers digital solutions that encourage the energy transition in the built environment as a very important theme. Solutions are expected in the areas of (predictive) digital twinning, data-driven smart buildings, data management, and continuous commissioning.  Nowadays digital solutions must be capable of handling a wide variety of HVAC systems and even be self-learning in detecting trends and process anomalies. Stand-alone (add-on) or embedded solutions are possible, but system architectures must include large scale deployment (wired and wireless solutions, IoT, cloud solutions, blockchain technologies). Monitoring strategies are needed that also bridge the gap between Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) and Building Information Modeling (BIM), and enable lifetime-cost control using system and building-contextual data. Large-scale monitoring of energy, comfort and life-cycle cost performances at an affordable cost level are needed in support of business cases and policies. Finally, the recent COVID pandemic has triggered research on digital-focused design, monitoring and control of ventilation systems, in relation to overall comfort and health. This includes AI algorithms for fault detection and diagnosis, pattern recognition and anomaly detection. ‘

CLIMA 2022 therefore welcomes original  contributions on digital solutions supporting the building upgrading process and building (energy) management’ .

 Building Management Systems for Energy, Carbon, Comfort and Cost Performance:

    • Design for Automation: From BIM Models to BACS
    • Digitization in HVAC control & Health Monitoring
    • Digitization for integration & Building upgrading

 

Theme 3: Health & Comfort
Prof. Philomena Bluyssen (TUD) & AnneMarie Eijkelenboom (EGM Architects): ‘The achievement of health and comfort of people in the built environment, whether at home, at work, at school, or enjoying free time, is a complex subject that involves physics, behaviour, physiology, energy conservation, climate change, architecture, engineering and technology. The way people feel, experience and behave in their environment is related to the quality of their environment, described by the thermal, air, lighting and sound qualities, but also to the ability of the buildings and systems to respond to people’s changing needs and preferences and the ability of people to respond to new buildings and systems. As shown by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, building systems have to provide a resilient environment not only on the long term (as climate change is evolving) but also in the short term (for example during a pandemic).  CLIMA 2022 challenges advances in intelligent interfaces and interaction between building, indoor climate systems and humans and welcomes contributions seeking to new approaches to health & comfort in relation to low-energy buildings and energy-efficient retrofit’:

  • Ventilation to reduce infectious diseases
  • Indoor Environmental Quality for well-being in energy-efficient & retrofitted buildings:
  • Thermal comfort in energy-efficient buildings & retrofitted buildings
  • Resilience and climate change

 

Theme 4: Circularity
Prof. Tillmann Klein (TUD), Bob Geldermans (TUD) & Olaf Oosting (Managing director at Valstar-Simonis): As a result of a growing population worldwide and the need for comfortable and healthy indoor environments, a massive building challenge lies ahead with the development of new building projects as well as the need to upgrade the existing building stock. To ensure a future-proof, sustainable economy for future generations,  the reduction of the use of primary resources is essential. Circularity aims at closing and connecting material, water and energy flows while eliminating waste and reducing the demand for primary resources. The HVAC sector has a particularly high potential to contribute to circularity. Cycling energy, air and water flows is its core business. Components are frequently subject to upgrades and change. The retention and reuse of valuable materials and components offer business opportunities. However, the associated benefits have not yet translated into a large-scale market breakthrough. The sector needs a clear vision on how to achieve circularity goals, based on innovative strategies and an integrated approach with regard to circular design, product technology, business models, and management. CLIMA 2022 considers circularity as a primary challenge for the coming decade. It is therefore inviting contributions that initiate, share, and improve scientific and practical knowledge and best practice examples in the following areas:’

 

  • Circular Design
  • Product Technology
  • Business Models
  • Management

 

 Theme 5: Learning & Education
Prof. Christian Struck (Saxion University) & Prof. Laure Itard (TUD): ‘The European targets around the energy transition in the built environment are huge.  To realize the transition towards an energy-efficient, circular, digitized and healthy built environment, an upscaling of solutions is urgently needed. Dissemination of technical innovations and proven knowledge and approaches is needed. The building services sector is essential for realizing this transition: next to delivering the workforce for designing, placing and maintaining all energy and indoor climate equipment in buildings and neighborhoods, the sector also acts as innovator and is the axis between the construction, energy, IT and health sectors, integrating knowledge from these fields. Rapid changes in energy and HVAC engineering techniques and systems and in contracts and processes make it necessary to accelerate the uptake of knowledge in these areas. This means that continuous professional development of the current workforce and  the education of new employees is necessary. There is a growing need for in-company, sectoral and cross-sectoral learning communities. CLIMA 2022 considers advances in Learning & Education as being essential to the sector and therefore welcomes original  contributions demonstrating novel approaches and good practices in developing learning communities and curricula to attract and educate young professionals as well as train experienced practitioners digitally and on the job’.

  • Learning communities
  • Digital education
  • Development of curricula
  • Business models for Learning & Education

 

Please read this article in REHVA Journal 3, 2021

 

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Deadline abstract submission extended

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Due to the numerous requests for extension and the large volume of abstract submissions that are flowing in, the Scientific Committee of CLIMA 2022 is happy to announce that the deadline for the submission of abstracts has been extended until September 15th, 2021.

Would you like to share your expertise on a project, scientific research or other interesting developments within one of the 5 congress themes? Hesitate no longer and submit your abstract before August 1st, 2021. Maybe we will meet in Rotterdam!

Extended deadline abstract submission  – September, 15th 2021

 

More information about abstract submission

 

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