Trial / Demo
Next up in our new Digital Twin explainer series, we unpick the term Positive Energy Blocks, looking at where the term came from, the key steps to creating these using our ICL Digital Twin Technology, and how this forms a route-map to decarbonising the built environment.
Firstly, the definition of a Positive Energy Block is relatively simple; a compact area which over a year produces more energy than it consumes. It should include at least three mixed use buildings, more than 15,000 sqm in total, and needs to include local renewable energy production and measures to reduce its energy demand.
The term first came about via the European Commission under the funding programme Horizon 2020 Smart Cities and Communities, and has since been used prominently as one of the main objectives of the programme’s +CityxChange smart city project, of which IES is a key technology partner.
The project will see seven cities develop and deploy Positive Energy Blocks and Districts and scale these out as part of a Clean Energy Transition. Solutions are aimed to improve the quality of life for citizens and establish urban ecosystems that have zero emissions.
IES' role on the project is the modelling and analysis of the buildings, grid and any renewable infrastructure within the identified Positive Energy Blocks for each of the seven cities. Through the use of smart sensors, connected devices and the integration of ICL tools, IES will enable improved decision support that allows Municipalities and Citizens to visualise the impacts of decisions to be made in their city.
IES will create a workflow tool that guides districts and cities through the process of creating a Positive Energy block using our ICL tools. Using learning from this project and IES’s years of experience in this area, the tool will first look at improving efficiency measures, and then at integrating local renewable production and management of the energy at a block or building level. Using demand response and flexibility to ensure energy demand is met and exceeded and a Positive Energy Block created.
By creating Positive Energy Blocks and Districts we can start to see how Digital Twins are an enabler to decarbonising the built environment. Our CEO Don McLean explains this well in his ‘Three Levels of “How” to Decarbonise’ blog. In this he talks about a route-map to net-zero which is outlined as the 5 steps below:
• Step 1 - Create a “Digital Twin” Baseline
• Step 2: Optimise Control & Operation
• Step 3: Shallow Retrofit/Deep Retrofit
• Step 4: Design of Local Energy and Flexibility Market
• Step 5: Integrate Renewable Generation
Read Don’s blog for more details on these steps.
Following this process, the ICL Digital Twin created a Positive Energy Block for the City of Limerick in Ireland, the first of the cities to be piloted as part of the +CityxChange project.
The aim was for Limerick, the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, to demonstrate to the rest of Europe how to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of urban areas using five buildings within its Georgian district. Read the full case study.
Our experience over the last 25 years, in improving the performance of countless buildings, is that decarbonisation is very possible and readily achievable through Digital Twin technology that engages and empowers all to make a difference.
We hope that this has given you a better insight into Positive Energy Blocks. For further information and resources please visit https://www.iesve.com/cityxchange.
US
