Saxion builds Smart TinyLab to achieve national climate targets

Six companies from Twente (Eaton, Binx, De Groot, BR Controls, Winkels and Pilkington) have joined the project. All these companies work on innovative solutions in their own fields. One works with materials, the other with installations, and yet another with indoor climate. 

The idea is that by using the Smart Tiny Lab Together, it will become clear how the different systems affect each other. Also, there can be investigated how different systems can be integrated efficiently to reduce energy consumption even more. “We want to facilitate research into system integration with this lab”, says Christiaan Struck, lecturer in Sustainable Technology at Saxion. “Too often, systems that are meant to contribute to a changing energy infrastructure are still approached individually.”

Building users have a lot of influence on energy efficiency. That is why the Smart Tiny Lab will soon have two floors: a living area and an office area where IT systems can also be tested. A set chamber contains all the technical installations that are required for climate and energy control. Companies can place their system components in the two test chambers, which can be flexibly arranged and have removable inner and outer walls. The lab can also be rotated 180 degrees to play with sunlight, and it has been equipped with sensors that can take various measurements and quantify system performance. 

 “The construction industry has the potential to make indoor climate conditioning systems even more energy efficient. This is because systems are installed and used without considering secondary systems and consumption. With the Smart Tiny Lab, we want to discover where the bottlenecks are and how two or more systems can communicate with each other so that they minimise energy consumption”, says Struck.

The project has been funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund). The partners will work on various themes until June 2023, such as the performance monitoring of façade elements, glass as an active heat regulator, intelligent building-user interaction, value creation through data-driven services, and energy distribution through direct current networks. 

The lab will also be used to give demonstrations to raise awareness in the market to ensure quality development, knowledge development and product development. 

The Tiny Smart Lab is expected to open in May this year.