Field demonstration of a scalable predictive energy management approach for multi-family buildings with heat pumps and PV

Abstract

The OPERA project demonstrates a predictive energy management strategy designed for multi-family buildings equipped with heat pumps (HPs) and photovoltaic (PV) systems. The project, implemented in a renovated 20-apartment building in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, aimed to develop, deploy, and validate a model predictive control (MPC) strategy that optimizes heat pump operation. It leverages the building’s thermal inertia to minimize electricity costs while preserving comfort. Communication with the heating and domestic hot water (DHW) subsystems is standardized via SmartGridReady (SGR) functional profiles. Across a full heating season (2024–2025), the predictive control achieved an 11.5% reduction in HP electricity costs, primarily by shifting consumption to low-tariff periods and increasing self-consumption. The project confirms the technical and economic feasibility of predictive control for collective housing in a renovation context and puts a strong emphasis on replicability, by 1) providing a blueprint for replication to similar buildings with a communication and control approach relying on standardized interfaces to the heat pump and home automation system to control the valves, and 2) integrating in a commercial energy management system (EMS) with no additional hardware investment required; and 3) formulating recommendations related to design, control and operation drawn from that campaign.