EVELIXIA - Smart Grid-Efficient Interactive Buildings
Business, Management and Services
Smart technologies can significantly improve the energy efficiency of the EU's building stock. The EVELIXIA project will study European buildings as active utility nodes, with the aim of increasing their energy efficiency and interconnectivity. The project will enable two-way communication between the network and occupants, based on flexible technologies. EVELIXIA also aims to make buildings more innovative and flexible through analysis supported by sensors and controls, optimizing efficiency, flexibility and occupant preferences while taking into account utility signals.
Coordinated by the Hellas Research and Technology Center in Greece (CERTH), EVELIXIA brings together 36 high-profile organizations from 12 EU countries envisioning to make buildings as Active Service Nodes (BAUN), rendering the EU building stock:
a) energy-efficient;
b) connected, by enabling bidirectional communication between the grid and occupants, leveraging flexible technologies;
c) smart, through sensor-backed analytics and controls to optimize efficiency, flexibility, and occupant preferences; and
d) flexible, reducing, shifting, or modulating energy use based on occupants’ needs, considering grid operators’ signals.
EVELIXIA intends to develop five areas of innovation, namely Building to-Grid Services (B2G), Grid to Building Services (G2B), Interactivity and interfaces between people and buildings, Systems Interoperability, and Innovative hardware as flexibility enablers.
These innovations will be integrated, implemented, and validated in 7 real large-scale pilots (in Greece, Romania, France, Finland, Spain, Austria and Denmark). Throughout the deployment and validation of the EVELIXIA platform, various actors from different sectors (electricity, heating/cooling, mobility) will exchange data to provide B2G and G2B services and engage in Business Model development demonstrating the economic viability of the proposed solutions.
EVELIXIA puts a strong focus on social engagement, empowering citizens not only as solution adopters but also as co-creators applying methodologies for citizen and consumer involvement and advanced interaction interfaces between people and buildings.