A large proportion of the energy we consume is used to heat and cool buildings. If the energy transition is to succeed, more renewable energy must be used for these purposes. And because renewable energies do not occur with the usual constancy, we need to create ways of storing heat and cold at the same time.

The building as energy storage - a system component in the intelligent energy management of the model region Bavaria/Austria.

This is where the technology of thermal building component activation (TCA) comes in. If the solid components of buildings are specifically used as decentralized heat storage units, they can become part of the energy networks and relieve them. TCA could thus make a significant contribution to achieving our energy targets.

However, building component activation is still in its infancy in many areas and there are still a number of unresolved issues. A Bavarian-Austrian project, in which Bayern Innovativ GmbH is also involved, is focusing on how to further optimize them and bring them into wider use.

In the first phase of the project, experts from the construction and energy sectors in Bavaria and Austria from industry, research and public administration were surveyed on various aspects of thermal component activation. This revealed some clear differences between the two countries: In Austria, the use of TCA is already well advanced in practice and its future potential is seen more comprehensively than in Bavaria, where the focus is primarily on its use in commercial and public buildings. There are also some differences in the assessment of the advantages and disadvantages, as the following charts show.

Anyone looking for lighthouse projects or companies with expertise in thermal component activation will find what they are looking for on the innovation map , which was created as part of the project. Innovative buildings and the architects, specialist planners and construction companies involved are presented here according to sectors and fields of application. The map is constantly growing and is open to further entries.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was not possible to offer excursions and tours of buildings with component activation and innovative heating concepts as part of the project as originally planned. The presentation had to be moved to virtual space, for example the excursion to Vienna's Speicherstadt warehouse district in October 2020, where the four projects "Stadtelefant", "Wohnbau MGG22", "Bundesschule Aspern" and "Bildungscampus Aspern Nord" were presented. The videos of the virtual tours are available here .

There was another highlight at the end of April 2021: the online user meeting "Thermal management of buildings". The event, which was attended by around 180 participants, focused on the market, trends, potential and cost-effectiveness. A total of six presentations showed how solid buildings and parts of buildings can become part of energy systems through thermal component activation and intelligent control.

A special feature of the event was the virtual excursion to the ETA factory . Participants were taken on a live tour of the demo factory at the Technical University of Darmstadt, where the combination of industrial production with state-of-the-art building technology is demonstrated and further developed. In a virtual tour, the participants had the opportunity to get to know the ETA factory in detail.

A continuation of the online user meeting "Thermal management of buildings" took place on June 15, 2021. At this event, the topic of building automation and networking was discussed in more detail. Several best practice examples were also presented.