Smart Grid-Efficient Interactive Buildings

EVELIXIA brings together 36 high-profile organisations from 12 EU countries with the aim of realising Buildings as Active Utility Nodes (BAUNs) and thus shaping the EU building stock as: a) energy efficient; b) connected, by promoting bi-directional communication between the electricity grid and occupants, using flexible technologies; c) smart, by using analytics, supported by sensors and controls, to jointly optimise efficiency, flexibility and occupant preferences; and d) flexible, by reducing, shifting or modulating energy consumption according to occupants' needs, taking into account signals from the utility company. EVELIXIA structures the progress of its solutions along five innovation paths: IP1: Building-to-Grid (B2G) Services; IP2: Grid-to-Building (G2B) Services; IP3: Human-to-Building Interfaces & Interactivity; IP4: System Interoperability; and IP5: Innovative Hardware as Flexibility Accelerators, which are integrated, deployed and validated in 7 large-scale, real-world pilot projects (in GR, RO, FR, FI, ES, AT, DK). During the deployment and validation of the EVELIXIA platform, different actors (e.g. distribution system operators, grid operators, energy service providers, aggregators) from different sectors (electricity, heating/cooling, mobility) will exchange data to provide B2G and G2B services and will participate in the development of business models demonstrating the economic viability of the proposed solutions. EVELIXIA emphasises social engagement by involving citizens not only as users of solutions but also as their co-creators by applying methods for citizen and consumer participation and advanced human-to-building interfaces. Key expected outcomes include: 14 scalable B2G/G2B services, including DSF (implicit, explicit, shifting, etc.), peer-to-peer energy trading, portfolio management (day-ahead/intraday), TSO/DSO/DHO and system planning services; a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, up to 25% increase in flexibility, up to 100% increase in self-consumption, 13.5% reduction in energy consumption and 11% increase in renewable energy production.