The lab enables research into the behaviour of building components and systems in different climate zones. The building comprises two floors with different test cells, climate chambers and experimentation rooms.
The lab allows experimental research and system testing to be carried out on a 1:1 scale. Research is conducted into active and passive technologies for energy supply, automation, and climate control in buildings under a wide range of environmental conditions.
As part of the deal, the lab uses automation solutions from Siemens Smart Infrastructure. Its digital building management system Desigo CC controls and monitors all disciplines and enables efficient building operation as well as specific research tests that can be performed under optimal conditions. The design of the Siemens solution allows the climate and building technology requirements to be adapted to the various research projects and the desired test parameters. Siemens’s system collects all important data generated by the installed sensors and field devices and transmits it to the higher-level ETH control system.
Matthias Rebellius, CEO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure, said: “Our building management system lays the foundation for enhancing the existing ETH systems as needed and potentially connecting them in the future to the open digital building platform Building X, which is part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio.”
Siemens Xcelerator is an open digital business platform that supports companies in their digital transformation.
The lab is designed to be flexible in terms of building technology and layout as individual rooms can be connected or separated as needed. This allows comparative or isolated tests of components and building systems, e. g. for efficient cooling or integrated power production using solar technology. User acceptance studies can be conducted in individual test cells. In their experiments, researchers can independently control the entire building automation down to the field level and switch from operating mode to research mode.
The new ETH facility has a room with a solar emulator. This test facility makes it possible to simulate temperature and humidity as well as the solar effects during the day. This artificial sun is based on energy-efficient LED technology.