• Energy efficiency is by nature a multidisciplinary research field: all Aalto Schools can make significant contributions on the matter

• Investment for a long-term, energy-related research aiming at leading edge international collaboration and industry-academia joint projects

• Altogether ca. 12 M€ is invested in the programme during the years 2012-2017 (option to 2019)

• Nine research consortia within the Aalto University Schools are currently running, each funded for four years

• Each research project has members from at least two different Aalto Schools (SCI, ENG, CHEM, ELEC, BIZ, ARTS). The projects are ambitious and range from artificial streets to test houses

• A part of a new strategic platform focused on energy, The Aalto Energy Platform

energyefficiency.aalto.fi aalto.fi/energyplatform

Aalto Energy Efficiency Research Programme (AEF)

Efficient and Safe Traffic Environments– Increase outdoor lighting energy-efficiency by providing criteria for

smart lighting systems, taking into account visibility, traffic situation, safety and environmental and economical aspects.

Groups:Lighting Unit Research Institute of Measuring and Modelling for the Built Environment Metrology Research Institute; Transportation EngineeringCentre for Knowledge and Innovation Research; Department of Design

LIGHT ONLY WHEN AND WHERE IT IS NEEDED

SAFETY, VISIBILITY, EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY

Mesopic photometry- Visual adaptation in driving- Instruments, metrology- International implementation

Energy efficiency- Outdoor lighting optimisation- LED lighting- Efficient use of light

Traffic safety- Surrogate safety studies- Cost-benefit ratio of road lighting

Mobile mapping- Environmental models- Energy analysis- Built environment maintenance

Economic and societal impact- Living labs in overall optimisation- Transition management- LCA and environmental impacts

Smart lighting- Energy when needed- Living Lab, user-centric design

13

CongestionAccidentFull parking lotDelayed bus

Better routeBetter travel timeBetter bus connectionRidesharingPark & ride

1. Learnsregular routes

from tripobservations

2. Predicts Current routes

3. Data fusionto predict the

traffic situation

4. Generatesalternative

travel chains

5. Advicesabout problems

and optionsdown the road

Helsinki metropolitan area: Commuting with Crowdsensing

• Background application for mobile device (sensing, guidance and notifications)• User benefits: advise is based on real-time traffic data• Pioner-level data processing does not drain the battery!• Motivation: For each weekday public transportation is used instead of a private

car, the energy-save is 5 % Groups:Inform. & Comp. ScienceInstitute for Information Tech.Transportation EngineeringService Economy

Energy efficient Building in Helsinki Urban Areas

– Helsinki favors European-style Townhouses in zoning due to their area efficiency; demand is still low and constructors hesitate, why?

– What is truely the local equivalent of this housing typology in a country that idolizes private, detached houses? How to build it more energy efficient but affordable, and make the most of the urban infrastructure?

Architecture, building technology, heating, ventilation & electrotechnical solutions User options

Private car or no car?

New housing typologies

Groups:Housing ArchitectureBuilding TechnologyElectrical EngineeringEnergy Technologywww.yleiskaava.fi ; Picture by Jouni Suominen

Can we reduce indoor temperature by 1-2 °C and still maintain the comfort of living just by using more wooden interiors and improving spatial design?

• Poorly-designed interiors increase the need of heating energy, thermal cycle s need optimisation

• Wood has superb properties by nature: humidity balancing, psycologically calming, thermodynamically warm and insulating => affect the user-experience of comfortable indoor temperature

• Options to improve wood resistance towards excess humidity: chemical surface modification or mechanical processing. Traditional treatments destroy the natural properties of wood (e.g. lacque, paint)

Especially for Refurbishing!Applicable for Private & Office Spaces

Otaniemi test houses

Groups:Wood Techn. &Surface Chem.Wood ArchitectureEnergy TechnologyEnvironmental Psychology

Energy-Efficient Living Spaces

New Nanotechnical Solutions for Domestic and Industrial Use

Improved heat-transfer liquids can increase the electricity production of power plants by 5-8 % without compromising the heat production. Minimal technical changes, improvement comes through pressure and temperature drops in the process.

Groups:Applied PhysicsMaterial Science & Eng.Energy EngineeringRadio Science & Eng.

Novel heat storages to be integrated in the southern Finland houses: the yearly need of a low-energy building can be stored during summer using excess heat of the power plants into a moderate-sized heat storage => nanometer-scale modifications to improve insulation and storage capacity dramatically

• Development of nanofoams instead of glass wool/styrofoam: thermal radiation scatters => fivefold growth in insulation properties

• Nanodroplets and –particles into heat-transfer liquids, inexpensive materials in low amounts => improved storage and transfer capacity

• The material itself converts heat to electricity, requires a temperature difference on opposite ends. The bigger the gradient, the better the performance

• Applicable e.g. in vehicles (waste heat exhaust gases), industrial processes, even for household fireplaces and chimneys, hybrid solar collectors

• Beneficial in places where electricity is scarcely available

• Focus on finding new thermoelectric materials, assembling test modules and integrating them into domestic concepts

Chimney Crosscut

Groups:ChemistryElectrical EngineeringIndustrial Desingn

Generator

Cold Water

Hot Air

Waste Heat to Electricity: Thermoelectrics

Smart grids and pan-European Energy Markets

– Moving from centralized to de-centralized energy production and transmission

– Integration of renewables unbalances the current network, variability of consumption not efficiently utilised => digital network to direct consumers options & choices during peak hours

– Electrical & automation engineering meets economics and consumers

– Europe is in need to better combine its electrical network. Intermittent renewables and consumption balancing create pressure for the current system.

– Requires complex modelling of the present and future scenarios, heat should be included!

– The role of regulations, technologies and market prices to investments

Groups:Energy Technol., Electrical Eng.Information and Service EconomyMathematics and System Analysis

Groups:Electrical & Automation Eng.Energy TechnologyEnergy economics

New Energy Conversion Technologies and Applications

• Carbon nanotube for solar panels – carbon-based electronics can multiply the efficiency, transparency allows

building integration

• Carbon-metal hybrid components to increase the performance of industrial electrodes

– Current solutions have huge overpotential wasting electricity– Target especially in the mining sector

• Improved manufacturing of LEDs– New semiconductor device with superior properties

Groups:Micro- and NanotechnologyApplied PhysicsChemistry