TU Delft’s new education building Pulse: energy label A++++

News - 10 October 2018 - Communication

TU Delft’s new education building Pulse has an A++++ energy label. It is the first energy-neutral building on campus. The roof is home to 490 solar panels (750 m2) with an annual yield of 150,000 kWh. The solar panels provide sufficient energy for the building’s installations:  heat pump, food & beverage outlets, ventilation and lighting. Every panel is equipped with an optimizer that ensures other panels are not affected if a panel is possibly underperforming or suffering malfunctions.
The optimizers output 350V DC that is used throughout the building. Furthermore the building is equipped with underground thermal storage and a triple-glazed façade. An intelligent building management system ventilates, lights, cools and heats the various spaces at Pulse in accordance with their usage. The facade openings have been designed in such a way that they make optimum use of daylight, thereby decreasing demand for electric lighting and, as a result, power.