The Swedish construction sector is said to be highly traditional with a slow pace of development, e.g., in terms of adapting new technologies. However, current developments related mainly to digitalization, but also sustainability and entrepreneurship, are forcing this sector to change from almost static to highly dynamic. This paper presents results from an interview study performed with eight industry experts from various property management and/or construction companies in Sweden, all in different ways connected to research at KTH Live-In Lab. The interviews were performed to discuss and identify what engineering skills are required to operate and manage the smart and sustainable buildings of the future. The results indicate that changes in the three areas of digitalization, sustainability and entrepreneurship have different characteristics. The interviewees describe rapid changes in these areas, changes that have an unknown end goal. What is asked for in the construction industry seems unreachable. The construction sector cannot fully harvest the benefits of ongoing technological development, and academia is, in the short term, unable to help. Hence, dedicated actors solve the competence need outside traditional university educational programs.
Buildings consume significant energy worldwide and account for a substantial proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, building energy management has become critical with the increasing demand for sustainable buildings and energy-efficient systems. Simulation tools have become crucial in assessing the effectiveness of buildings and their energy systems, and they are widely used in building energy management. These simulation tools can be categorized into white-box and black-box models based on the level of detail and transparency of the model’s inputs and outputs. This review publication comprehensively analyzes the white-box, black-box, and web tool models for building energy simulation tools. We also examine the different simulation scales, ranging from single-family homes to districts and cities, and the various modelling approaches, such as steady-state, quasi-steady-state, and dynamic. This review aims to pinpoint the advantages and drawbacks of various simulation tools, offering guidance for upcoming research in the field of building energy management. We aim to help researchers, building designers, and engineers better understand the available simulation tools and make informed decisions when selecting and using them.
Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems offer a low carbon heating and cooling solution for the decarbonization of buildings. As global temperatures rise, the cooling requirements of buildings will grow, even in regions where cooling systems have been historically uncommon due to their colder climate, such as Sweden. The combination of free cooling (FC) with GSHPs seems like a natural way to meet the increasing cooling needs, since the heat extracted from the building during the summer months can be injected into the ground to potentially regenerate the borehole field and enhance heat pump performance. However, a technology that is generally integrated with GSHP systems for borehole regeneration are photovoltaic/thermal collectors. This study investigates the performance of a ground source heat pump system with free cooling for a multi-family building in Stockholm, Sweden, and the interference on the free cooling capabilities of the system when photovoltaic/thermal collectors are present. The results demonstrate that the integration of PVT and FC not only maintains the cooling supply but also enhances heat pump performance, all the while reducing borehole length and land area requirements.