Living Lab Energy Campus (LLEC) experimental buildings

Markus Breig (KIT)
View of the three LLEC experimental buildings (left) and the SEnSSiCC building (right). (Photo: Markus Breig, KIT)

In the Helmholtz Research Infrastructure Living Lab Energy Campus the construction of three experimental buildings with identical building envelope and generous instrumentation, but different controllable heating systems, was realized. The three experimental buildings enable research on a self-adjusting process control for the network-based regulation of building heating systems and their validation in a real-world experiment. Due to an improved process control, all heating systems equipped with such modern controllers directly save energy. Electricity-based heating systems with network-based controls also provide system services in the electricity network.

Research topics

  • Real testing of any operating scenario through high flexibility of the experimental buildings
  • Self-adjusting process control for network-based control for building heating systems and validation in real-world experiments
  • Operation of a complete DC building

 

Equipment

Heat pump house
  • Air-to-water heat pump
  • Sole-to-water heat pump
  • Exhaust air module for brine-water heat pump
  • Connection to district heating network
  • Heat stratified storage tank
  • Photovoltaic system
  • Battery storage (AC, three-phase, 15 kWh)
  • Charging stations (also V2G)
  • Battery electric vehicles
Direct Power to Heat house
  • Electric auxiliary heating
  • Electric floor heating for component activation
  • Solar thermal system
  • Connection to district heating network
  • Heat stratified storage tank
Gas2Heat house
  • Gas condensing boiler
  • Natural gas fuel cell
  • Home ventilation with heat recovery
  • Connection to district heating network
  • Heat stratified storage tank
  • Photovoltaic system
  • Battery storage (DC, single-phase, 5.2 kWh)
  • Charging stations (also V2G)
  • Kitchen with direct current appliances
Weather measuring station
  • Solar radiation
  • Outdoor temperature
  • Wind speed
  • Air pressure
  • Wind direction
  • Humidity
  • Cloud coverage
  • Precipitation quantity
  • Brightness
Measuring sensors
  • Thermal measurements (room air, walls, ceilings, screed, near-surface geothermal energy, stratified storage, heat and cold generators, outside temperature, u-value, room humidity, CO2, heat meter heating circuit, ...)
  • Electrical measurements (current, voltage, frequency, ...)
  • Hydraulic measurements (volume flows over heating circuit, mass flows over heating circuit, differential pressures over heating circuit)

 

Selected scientific publications


  1. Automated Metadata Acquisition in Energy Research: BPMN-driven Workflows at the KIT Energy Lab
    Reckel, J. M.; Holzhäuer, M.; Moser, T.; Moster, P.; Waczowicz, S.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2026, April 30. Helmholtz Metadaten Collaboration : Metadata in Action (HMC 2026), Heidelberg, Germany, April 28–30, 2026. doi:10.5281/zenodo.20035852 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  2. JüKa BuilData: Homogenized Heterogeneous Data from Building Operation
    Butt, H. S.; Reckel, J. M.; Zimmer, M.; Huang, Q.; Phipps, K.; El Ashhab, H.; Wachter, J. L.; Spatafora, L.; Waczowicz, S.; Benigni, A.; Carta, D.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Schäfer, B.
    2026, February 27. doi:10.21227/hew5-tf49 
  3. JanusBM: A Dual-Fidelity Multi-Zone White-Box Building Modeling Framework
    Cheng, H.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2026. arxiv. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2603.23015 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  4. Lastmanagement in den Musterhäusern des Reallabors Living Lab Energy Campus am KIT
    Wachter, J.
    2026, March 2. Brennpunkt: Dynamisches Lastmanagement im Spannungsfeld von PV – eMobilität – Wärmepumpe und Speicherung (2026), Karlsruhe, Germany, March 2, 2026 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  5. Distributed model predictive control for district heating networks considering building and network flexibility
    Langner, F.; Matthes, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2026. Energy, 350, 140746. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2026.140746 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  6. Communication-Free Grid-Supportive Control of Converter-Based ZIP Loads in DC Microgrids
    Ekin, Ö.; Ghadrdan, M.; Carne, G. D.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2026. IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, 14 (2), 1779–1789. doi:10.1109/JESTPE.2026.3651885 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  7. State-of-Grid-Based SoC Balancing and AC Coupling Control for DC Microgrids
    Ekin, Ö.; Leuthaeusser, M.; Carne, G. D.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2026. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 73 (5), 7071–7083. doi:10.1109/TIE.2025.3639739 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  8. State-of-Grid-Based Control of Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids. PhD dissertation
    Ekin, Ö.
    2026, January 22. Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). doi:10.5445/IR/1000189633 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  9. Advanced Deep Reinforcement Learning for Heat Pump Control in Residential Buildings
    Demirel, G.; Ekin, Ö.; Liu, J.; Spatafora, L.; Förderer, K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2025 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference Europe (ISGT Europe), Valletta, 20th-23rd October 2025, 1–5, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/ISGTEurope64741.2025.11305332 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  10. Load Sensitivity-Based Adaptive Control Strategy for Grid-Supportive Loads in DC Microgrids
    Courcelle, M.; Ekin, Ö.; Carne, G. De; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2025 10th IEEE Workshop on the Electronic Grid (eGRID), 1–6, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/eGRID63452.2025.11255307 
  11. Grid-Supportive Load Control in DC Microgrids Using Hysteresis-Based Voltage Regulation
    Ekin, Ö.; Galenzowski, J.; Carne, G. De; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2025 IEEE Kiel PowerTech, Kiel, 29th June - 3rd July 2025, 1–6, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/PowerTech59965.2025.11180509 
  12. ComEMS4Build: Comfort-Oriented Energy Management System for Residential Buildings using Hydrogen for Seasonal Storage
    Kovačević, J.; Langner, F.; Tajalli-Ardekani, E.; Dorn, M.; Waczowicz, S.; Mikut, R.; Matthes, J.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). doi:10.5445/IR/1000186573 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  13. Experimental data of three identical residential buildings controlled with different controllers for heating demand response
    Tajalli-Ardekani, E.; Langner, F.; Kovačević, J.; Dietze, S.; Holzhaeuer, M.; Moser, T.; Seddiqi, A.; Spatafora, L.; Waczowicz, S.; Çakmak, H. K.; Matthes, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17455075 
  14. Decentralized Control of DC Microgrids: Introducing the State-of-Grid Concept: How the Principles of Communicating Vessels Could Be Used in DC Microgrid Control
    Ekin, Ö.; Carne, G. D.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2026. IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine, 20 (1), 8–19. doi:10.1109/MIE.2025.3607070 
  15. Characterization of grid-oriented control of heat pumps via SG-Ready
    Beichter, S.; Süß, A.-C.; Galenzowski, J.; Dillmann, J.; Dietze, S.; Mikut, R.; Waczowicz, S.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. IET Conference Proceedings, 2025 (14), 2081–2085. doi:10.1049/icp.2025.1999 
  16. BEOP: A Framework Enabling Validation of Realworld Energy Management Systems
    Beichter, S.; Beichter, M.; Nöthel, A.; Pinter, J.; Galenzowski, J.; Förderer, K.; Wiegel, F.; Moser, T.; Waczowicz, S.; Mikut R.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025, June 22. 16th International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG 2025), Nanjing, China, June 22–25, 2025 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  17. Non-linear active disturbance rejection control for buck and boost DC/DC converters
    Korompili, A.; Ekin, O.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Monti, A.
    2025. IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, 1. doi:10.1109/JESTPE.2025.3594635 
  18. The Smart2DC Microgrid Laboratory at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
    Ekin, Ö.; Wiegel, F.; Spatafora, L.; Jumar, R.; Ghadrdan, M.; Waczowicz, S.; Carne, G. De; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2025 IEEE 7thInternational Conference on DC Microgrids (ICDCM), 6 S., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/ICDCM63994.2025.11144732 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  19. Economy and sustainability analysis of sector coupled district energy systems using white-box models in distributed co-simulation
    Cheng, H.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025, September 1. Urban Futures Symposium (2025), Dübendorf, Switzerland, September 1–2, 2025 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  20. Economy and Sustainability Analysis With A Novel Modular Configurable Multi-Modal White-Box Building Model
    Cheng, H.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Çakmak, H. K.
    2025. Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference (ANNSIM 2025). Ed.: J.L. Risco-Martín, 13 S., Society for Computer Simulation (SCS) Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  21. Experimental evaluation of model predictive control and fuzzy logic control for demand response in buildings
    Langner, F.; Kovačević, J.; Spatafora, L.; Dietze, S.; Waczowicz, S.; Çakmak, H. K.; Matthes, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. Applied Energy, 401, Article no: 126666. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126666 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  22. Grid-Responsive Heating in Buildings Saves Cost
    Langner, F.; Kovacevic, J.; Spatafora, L.; Dietze, S.; Waczowicz, S.; Çakmak, H. K.; Matthes, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025, July 22. Energy Informatics 2 Excursion (2025), Karlsruhe, Germany, July 22, 2025 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  23. Validation of the smart readiness indicator on real test buildings - energy efficiency of heat generators
    Person, L.; Emich, T.; Spatafora, L.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Lennerts, K.
    2025. Energy and Buildings, 346, Article no: 116128. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116128 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  24. Building Modeling and Control for Occupant Thermal Comfort
    Kovacevic, J.; Cheng, H.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025, June 30. Tage des offenen Reallabors (2025), Karlsruhe, Germany, June 30, 2025 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  25. BEOP: A Framework Enabling Validation of Realworld Energy Management Systems
    Beichter, S.; Beichter, M.; Nöthel, A.; Pinter, J.; Galenzowski, J.; Förderer, K.; Wiegel, F.; Moser, T.; Waczowicz, S.; Mikut, R.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2025 IEEE 16th International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG), 799–804, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/PEDG62294.2025.11060365 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  26. Collaborative Modelling and Co-Simulation for Sector-Coupled Multi-Energy System Analysis with eASiMOV-eCoSim
    Çakmak, H. K.; Kocher, A.; Cheng, H.; Kovačević, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. doi:10.5445/IR/1000182805 
  27. The Impact of Model Complexity Reduction on System Dynamics: A Modelica Case Study of a Residential Heating System
    Kovačević, J.; Li, C.; Brecher, G.; Förderer, K.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2025 IEEE Conference on Technologies for Sustainability (SusTech), 8 S., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/SusTech63138.2025.11025706 
  28. A Reinforcement Learning Framework for AI-Driven Control of Validated White-Box Building Models
    Cheng, H.; Huang, Q.; Çakmak, H. K.; Schäfer, B.
    2025, June. Helmholtz AI Conference: AI for Science (HAICON 2025), Karlsruhe, Germany, June 3–5, 2025 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  29. Construction and Control of Validated Highly Configurable Multi-Physics Building Models for the Sustainability Analysis of Multi-Energy Systems in a Co-Simulation Setup
    Cheng, H.; Stock, J.; Xhonneux, A.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. SoutheastCon 2025, 19–28, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/SoutheastCon56624.2025.10971478 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  30. Economy and sustainability analysis with a novel modular configurable multi-modal white-box building model
    Cheng, H.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Çakmak, H. K.
    2025. arxiv. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2503.21666 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  31. New Co-Simulation Variants for Emissions and Cost Reduction of Sustainable District Heating Planning
    Cheng, H.; Buccoliero, V.; Kocher, A.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Çakmak, H. K.
    2025. IEEE PES 16th Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC 2024), 1–5, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/APPEEC61255.2024.10922291 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  32. Construction and Control of Validated Highly Configurable Multi-Physics Building Models for Multi-Energy System Analysis in a Co-Simulation Setup
    Cheng, H.; Stock, J.; Xhonneux, A.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. arxiv. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2503.08215 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  33. New Co-Simulation Variants for Emissions and Cost Reduction of Sustainable District Heating Planning
    Cheng, H.; Buccoliero, V.; Kocher, A.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Çakmak, H. K.
    2025. arxiv. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2503.08225 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  34. A fuzzy logic approach for economic energy-efficient heat pump operation in thermal building control
    Kovačević, J.; Süß, A.-C.; Çakmak, H. K.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. 2024 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT EUROPE), Dubrovnik, 14th-17th October 2024, 1–6, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/ISGTEUROPE62998.2024.10863470 
  35. Experimental Data of Two Buildings Supplied by Heat Pump and District Heating under Multiple Heating Scenarios during Winter 2023-2024
    Tajalli-Ardekani, E.; Dietze, S.; Moser, T.; Seddiqi, A.; Holzhaeuer, M.; Koubaa, M. A.; Spatafora, L.; Waczowicz, S.; Süß, W.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. doi:10.5281/zenodo.14810475 
  36. Grid-Supportive Load Control for Residential ZIP Loads in DC Microgrid
    Ekin, Ö.; Carne, G. D.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.36227/techrxiv.173198914.48430763/v2 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  37. State-of-Grid based Control of DC Microgrids: A Communication-Free Solution
    Ekin, Ö.; Leuthaeusser, M.; Carne, G. D.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2024. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.36227/techrxiv.172788527.76280747/v1 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  38. Linear active disturbance Rejection Control-Based voltage Controller for Buck and Boost DC/DC converters in DC contribution Grids
    Korompili, A.; Ekin, O.; Stevic, M.; Hagenmeyer, V.; Monti, A.
    2025. Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) 
  39. Distributed Control Strategy for Grid Supportive Loads in DC Microgrids
    Ekin, Ö.; Balakrishnan, A.; Spatafora, L.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2024. 2024 9th IEEE Workshop on the Electronic Grid (eGRID), 6 S., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/eGRID62045.2024.10842713 
  40. Characterization of grid-oriented control of heat pumps via SG-Ready
    Beichter, S.; Süß, A.-C.; Galenzowski, J.; Dillmann, J.; Dietze, S.; Mikut, R.; Waczowicz, S.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2025, January 24. doi:10.5281/zenodo.14678762 
  41. Coordinated price-based control of modulating heat pumps for practical demand response and peak shaving in building clusters
    Langner, F.; Kovačević, J.; Zwickel, P.; Dengiz, T.; Frahm, M.; Waczowicz, S.; Çakmak, H. K.; Matthes, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2024. Energy and Buildings, 324, 114940. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114940 
  42. Towards a Real-World Dispatchable Feeder
    Beichter, S.; Beichter, M.; Werling, D.; Galenzowski, J.; Weise, V.; Hildenbrand, C.; Wiegel, F.; Mikut, R.; Waczowicz, S.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2023. 2023 8th IEEE Workshop on the Electronic Grid (eGRID), Karlsruhe, Germany, 16-18 October 2023, 1–6, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/eGrid58358.2023.10380834 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  43. Demand Response in Smart Districts: Model Predictive Control of Building Cooling
    Zwickel, P.; Frahm, M.; Galenzowski, J.; Hafele, K.-H.; Maass, H.; Waczowicz, S.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2022. 2022 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference Europe (ISGT-Europe), 1–6, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/ISGT-Europe54678.2022.9960608 Full textFull text of the publication as PDF document 
  44. Occupant-oriented economic model predictive control for demand response in buildings
    Frahm, M.; Zwickel, P.; Wachter, J.; Langner, F.; Strauch, P.; Matthes, J.; Hagenmeyer, V.
    2022. e-Energy ’22: Proceedings of the Thirteenth ACM International Conference on Future Energy Systems, 354–360, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). doi:10.1145/3538637.3538864 

Contact persons

Dr.-Ing. Luigi Spatafora
Dr.-Ing. Luigi Spatafora
Head of Living Lab Energy Campus Experimental Buildings (LLEC)

luigi spatafora ∂does-not-exist.kit eduiai.kit.edu

Jan Lukas Wachter, M.Sc.
Jan Lukas Wachter, M.Sc.
Research associate

+49 721 608-25760jan wachter ∂does-not-exist.kit edu203667 Campus Nord