Renewable Energy Technologies
In the field of renewable energy use the focus lies on drawing possible alternative energy concepts to reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions of the university. So far under current market conditions renewable energy technologies do not reach the expected cost savings for being retrofitted/integrated in existing buildings. Nevertheless there is potential to integrate renewable energy sources into the energy supply for the existing building stock. Possible energy sources are mainly solar thermal and photovoltaic energy, but also biomass for CHP generation and waste heat. Especially the use of photovoltaic solar modules is considered to be an economic and cost-effective alternative to conventional electric power supply from the main grid.
Several studies have been performed on the cost-effectiveness of solar power modules combined with specific storage batteries for fluctuating power demand in private households as well as in industrial applications.
contact: jan.kotik@boku.ac.at