Transition to a low-carbon future calls for lowering energy demand and an increased use of intermittent energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Buildings account for roughly 40% of all energy use (for heating-cooling) and have, therefore, a prominent role in this transition. This will require rethinking the building both as a residential project and as part of the energy infrastructure.
InterHUB focuses on three important dimensions for the integration of buildings into the energy system: building systems design, household practices, and changing models for energy provision, and on how these dimensions are interrelated. The project addresses the technical, communicative, organisational and social challenges associated with buildings’ changing role in the energy system. Thus, the purpose of InterHUB is to deepen our understanding of the challenges involved in realising an integration of buildings and households in a future integrated and flexible energy system.
This calls for interdisciplinary research involving social sciences to understand everyday household practices and the complex changes in energy infrastructure, humanistic research to understand the involved actors’ sense-making and communication patterns, and technical research and development in building technologies. Read more on the three work packages here.
The InterHUB project will develop new knowledge on households in the changing energy system, on new buildings solutions and on how different utility services impact both households and the energy system. The project will also provide new knowledge about and methods to enhance communication amongst actors involved in these transition processes. Doing so, this research will contribute to the on-going scientific and policy debates as to how to ensure a sustainable, efficient, flexible, stable and affordable balancing of energy supply and demand.
Video (In Danish, English subtitles will be added soon).