The following question was posed at an innovation workshop at the Berlin Energietagen: "How can one feel warm while still heating in a climate-friendly way that doesn't run up costs?" A diverse group of participants sought to find creative solutions for this question.
Around 30 visitors to the Berlin Energy Days took the opportunity to look for new and creative ways in which user comfort and energy efficiency can be brought together. The starting point for this was the participants' habits in regard to the daily heating, ventilation and air conditioning of their living environment. These were then collected and mapped using Design Thinking methods. Typical challenges from a consumer perspective were then identified ("Challenges") and grouped into problem areas (for example, structural defects in apartments, control and operation of the heating system, long-term predictability of investments in heating modernization, etc.).
The participants then worked out initial solutions based on these problem areas; for products and services that enable consumers to meet their everyday needs and still be able to heat, ventilate and air-condition at a low cost.
The workshop is part of the Innovation Dialogue Series of the National Top-Runner Initiative (NTRI) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). Interested participants have the opportunity to participate in other workshops and contribute their needs and desires for the formulation of the "Challenges." No prior technical knowledge is required for this. For the "Challenges," the next step will be - together with you - to look for and to discuss innovative, creative, and energy-efficient solutions on the online platform - solutions that should be tailored to your needs as a consumer.
Approximately 10% of electricity consumption goes towards lighting up our houses so that we do not sit in the dark. Modern, energy-efficient technologies such as LEDs are an important contributor to sustainably reducing energy consumption. They are, however, not enough on their own. LEDs offer new technical possibilities that can lead to more light being used in more places at home. Intelligent concepts and ideas are therefore needed so that climate-friendly and energy-efficient light is made available at home.