PhD position “Spatial aspects of integrating decentralized energy systems”

To reach future energy and carbon emission goals, buildings have to become more energy efficient and neighborhoods have to integrate decentralized energy systems from distributed renewable energy sources. The progressive penetration of these distributed power sources and distributed storage devices calls for a new layout and design of the urban energy system.

The project will be part of a greater research effort to introduce the concept of urban energy hubs and developing a simulation environment which allows neighborhoods to convert to decentralized energy systems, reducing their carbon footprint and energy consumption. The work will be carried out in the frame of the SCCER (Swiss Competence Centres for Energy Research) project “Future Energy Efficient Buildings and Districts – FEEB&D” which supports Switzerland to implement the Energy strategy 2050 to withdraw from the use of nuclear energy.

The focus of the PhD project lies specifically in linking building and urban energy systems with geographical information systems. The integration of urban energy hubs at neighbourhood scale requires the consideration of spatial variations in energy demand and supply and the integration of district heating and cooling networks. Tasks include the spatial organization of urban energy technologies together with the placement and sizing of components for supply, conversion, and storage of energy, and the integration of low- and high temperature networks. These will be evaluated for different quarter scales and types (small micro-grid networks up to district scale; urban, historical and rural). The level of abstraction in the simulation approach should cover detailed simulation approaches, more simplified representations of the individual components and a representation in the energy hub format. Findings and proposed methods will be applied on typical case studies in Switzerland to develop a road map for similar neighbourhood configurations.

The supervisor is Prof Jan Carmeliet. The work will be carried out in close collaboration with Building Science and Technology Laboratory at Empa. The planned project duration is three years.

The ideal candidate has a masters or diploma degree in Mechanical, Civil, Electric, Environmental or Architectural engineering, (or related), and a strong background in building systems, building energy simulation, programming and experience with geographical information systems. Experience at the district or urban scale would be a bonus. Mastering the English language is required.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting Dr. Kristina Orehounig, ETH Zürich, Chair of Building Physics, orehounig<στο>arch.ethz.ch (no applications).

Apply online at: http://www.jobs.ethz.ch/ with attention to: ETH Zurich, Mr. Matthias Steiger, Human Resources, CH-8092 Zürich. Please submit your application including a comprehensive CV, cover letter, diplomas and work certificates online and upload all documents (PDF is recommended) through the website. Any other way of applying will not be considered.