Energy in buildings represents 40% of total world consumption (43% in France) and 2/3rds of electricity consumption. It is therefore a challenge to reduce its share of global energy consumption and a challenge in its interaction with energy grids.
The research carried out by the CEA and LOCIE at INES aims at improving energy sobriety, the efficiency of equipment and increasing the share of locally produced renewable energies.
In order to maximise the autonomy of the building with regard to the network, we must look for a balance between production and consumption at the level of the building or block. Energy transition and IoT development join forces to meet these challenges.
INES is developing digital solutions to pilot systems and improve performance using energy production, multi-vector storage and consumption profiles.
Our expertise ranges from the deployment of sensors to the interoperability between systems aiming to improve user service and reduce impact on the environment.
To improve the energy efficiency of buildings and preserve or improve the well-being of their users, you can increase the share of solar gain in winter and control it in summer, insulate the building and use the available resources in its close surroundings.
The building skin and its components are the core of INES's work.
Checking the contribution of new materials or the way in which they are used, activating openings, roofs and curtain walls, making them energy self-sufficient or designing integrated solutions for renovation are all subjects of research in our laboratories.
The necessity to reduce CO2 emissions leads to a constant search to do more with less and to seek the best fit of the systems with the building in its context and its use.
INES is working to improve the performance of hydraulic and aeraulic energy systems and air ventilation systems in order to improve indoor air quality. The activities of our laboratories also focus on their integration and interaction with the building.
Among the major changes underway in the world of energy, the market is moving from the traditional method of systematically injecting photovoltaic solar energy into the grid to a self-consumption mode.
The trend, regardless of who is involved, is towards local production for local consumption. For the building industry, it is a question of producing its own thermal or electrical energy.
Our laboratories are seeking a better match between the building's technical equipment and the level of production provided by solar systems. Designing and adapting technology to the demands of the building trade is our daily business.
The INCAS platform is an ideal testing ground for building integration.
It includes experimental equipment at scale 1 in outdoor climate: 4 experimental houses of 100 m², 14 modular roofs for the integration of solar components, 2 adiabatic cells, a 3-storey building for testing active curtain walls...
Numerous occupied or inhabited demonstrator buildings in France.
