Faglige nøgleord: Energy, climate change, district heating, smart heating, machine learning, building data, building operation
Oplæg tilgængeligt på: Engelsk og tysk
In recent years, climate action has been under attack, especially by right-wing parties claiming that green and sustainable heating will drive up costs. But that’s simply not true. In our research, we show how smarter, data-driven heating systems can dramatically lower energy use by reducing system temperatures, fixing hidden faults, and cutting waste. This not only reduces costs, it also opens the door to using free energy like industrial waste heat. When we stop heating our buildings wrongly and start using the data we already have, we make heating more efficient, greener, and cheaper. Climate action, in this case, literally pays off.
Info about myself:
I am Johannes, born and raised in the Bavarian countryside in Germany, from a working-class family. I went to a music high school and originally thought I’d study dentistry. Engineering wasn’t on my radar at all – one of my teachers was an engineer and honestly, he was a bit of a weirdo. But then I got a student job at a building services engineering company and ended up designing my first small heating systems. That hooked me.
I moved to Munich to study Energy and Building Services Engineering, did a practical semester in Berlin, and realized I wanted to see more of the world. I had planned to do an exchange in California during my Bachelor’s, but COVID stopped that. Instead, I went all in and moved to Denmark for my Master’s in Sustainable Energy at DTU. Living in a new country with a new language pushed me out of my comfort zone – and it was the best decision I’ve ever made – and I can just recommend it to everyone to try it once (you can always move back). I met amazing people from all over Europe and grew a lot personally.
During my Master’s thesis, I got curious about continuing my research – and it just so happened there was a PhD position open in the same field. I applied and here I am. I’ve never had straight A’s – it’s not about being perfect, it’s about curiosity, persistence, and finding joy in diving deep into something you care about.