A new ETH lab with an artificial sun
Many aspects of decarbonising buildings are connected to the sun. But how can new methods and building components such as façades be tested under controlled climate conditions? Dr. Arno Schlüter, ETH Prof. and Director of the new Zero Carbon Building Systems (ZCBS) Lab, had the idea to emulate qualities of the sun.
The sun is a dominant theme in building construction. How can we manage solar radiation? How do we take the regional climate into account? How can we build in a climate-neutral manner? How can we capture solar radiation on buildings to generate energy? All these questions are becoming increasingly urgent in times of climate change and are also being addressed by building technology research. Currently, Prof. Schlüter's team at the Chair of Architecture and Building Systems is tackling these questions and putting the ambitious idea of emulating sunlight and climatic conditions to test full-scale, 1-to-1 building components.
Located on ETH’s Hönggerberg campus, the research group has built a test lab that is unique worldwide. The Zero Carbon Building Systems (ZCBS) Lab consists of several test rooms and a control centre. In the respective test rooms, façade, roof, floor, and wall elements can be installed, and, subsequently, heated or cooled in a controlled way. The largest room – the climate chamber – houses a spectacular solar emulator. Using an array of LED-powered light sources that are concentrated with mirrored reflectors and mounted on a swivelling arm, the solar emulator can be moved both horizontally and vertically to mimic the sun’s path. With this method, the climate and solar radiation of different geographic locations can be created and building component performance data can be generated in much shorter time periods.
"The solar emulator allows us to replicate aspects of sunlight at an exceptional combination of quality and scale," explains Prof. Schlüter. He continues, ”…and it is a uniquely ETH project, where different scientific workshops across ETH have shared their practical know-how with our research team to ensure a future-proof facility.”
First experiments
The first test object is the digitally printed polymer façade from a project of the NCCR Digital Fabrication. The optical and thermal properties of this façade can be customised. Testing with the solar emulator will provide insight into when the façade should allow sunlight through, when it should block sunlight, and when heat should pass through it. This opens up numerous possibilities for rethinking façade design, and more generally building construction and a better use of material resources.
In the future, the Zero Carbon Building Systems (ZCBS) Lab will not only be used by ETH internal research groups but will also be available to external researchers and industry partners. Most recently, a researcher supported by a fellowship from the Velux Foundation has joined the group to conduct research using the ZCBS Lab facilities. Additionally, collaborations to test innovative building components and technologies are in planning with several companies and academic partners.
According to Dr. Krishna Bharathi, the Executive Director of the ZCBS Lab, "Another very special dimension of the lab is that now, it is possible to simultaneously evaluate the technical performance of building components while observing occupant behaviour and interaction. A central aim of this new experimental facility is to keep building users in the design loop.”
Visit the Zero Carbon Building Systems (ZCBS) Lab at the ETH Industry Day
At this year's ETH Industry Day on September 7th, Prof. Schlüter and his team will present the Zero Carbon Building Systems (ZCBS) Lab. Guided tours of the lab will be offered to visitors of the event. Don't miss this unique opportunity! Register here for the ETH Industry Day and get to know the Zero Carbon Building Lab and its team.
Contact/Links:
Zero Carbon Building Systems Lab
Do you want to get more "News for Industry" stories?
external pageFollow us on LinkedIn
Are you looking for research partners at ETH Zurich?
Contact ETH Industry Relations