One of the research pilots in Austria is a university building located in Kuchl, Salzburg. The location lies in central Alpine climate region.  For the research pilot in Kuchl (Salzburg), a case study will be conducted with the use of a physical model which simulates a conditioned indoor space. Through model predictive control, the space heating demand of the building model will be optimized by considering thermal properties of building envelopes, weather forecast and CO2 intensity forecast of district heating grid. The impact on district heating and the potential to integrate solar energy into the grid will be evaluated.

A model predictive controller has been developed for predicting future heat demand of a system over 24 hour and calculating optimal control inputs which satisfy the target of reducing carbon footprint from energy use. A digital twin of the physical model was created and included in the controller. A test for 24 hour prediction of heat demand was conducted. It was shown that the optimized heat demand profile was flattened over the prediction horizon. The upcoming work is to apply MPC-optimized control inputs to the heating system of the physical model in order to examine their influences in reality.