ENTRANCE: Advancing Smart and Decarbonized Buildings

The energy and building sectors play a crucial role in Europe's environmental and energy policies. As the energy transition accelerates, buildings are increasingly recognized as key players due to their potential to adopt smart management systems and advanced control strategies.

Why Buildings Matter in the Energy Transition

Why Buildings Matter in the Energy Transition

  • Buildings can cost-effectively enhance energy efficiency and flexibility.
  • Improved energy use leads to greater comfort, productivity, and health for occupants.
  • Optimized energy consumption accelerates the adoption of on-site and nearby renewable energy sources.
  • Electrification of demand helps reduce Europe's energy dependencies and strengthens resilience.

The ENTRANCE Vision

To fully enable the building sector's transition, interoperability with energy carriers and non-energy services must improve. Buildings must evolve into active contributors to the energy system—ensuring reliability, resilience, and sustainability amid climate change, resource constraints, and emerging threats like cybersecurity and geopolitical challenges.

Our Approach

Our Approach

ENTRANCE is developing and demonstrating innovative solutions that make buildings smart-grid-ready and decarbonized by integrating:

  • Energy efficiency and flexibility
  • On-site renewables and mobility solutions
  • User empowerment and engagement
  • Interoperability with district heating and electricity grids

Real-World Demonstrations Across Europe

To validate its impact, ENTRANCE will implement its solutions in six demonstration sites across different European regions, ensuring adaptability to diverse climates and market conditions.

By combining technology integration, digitalization, user engagement, and performance-driven economics, ENTRANCE is paving the way for a smarter, greener, and more resilient energy future.

ENTRANCE Solutions

Our 11 innovations will be demonstrated in 6 pilot environments across Europe

01

Optimal design and operation

Integrated technical solutions for on-site RES generation and storages to enhance flexibility integration

02

Physical interfaces

Improving contribution of buildings to electricity grid robustness

03

HVAC integration

Physical interfaces to improve contribution of buildings to district heating grid robustness

04

Data-driven control

Integrating buildings and energy infrastructure for smart-grid-ready building

05

Smart charging

Predictive strategies for charging solutions considering dynamic pricing mechanism

06

Enhanced flexibility

Control solutions for batteries, thermal storages, and heat pumps with user engagement

07

User engagement

Algorithm to integrate and optimize technical solutions focusing on IEQ, cost, and environmental indicators

08

Interoperability

Enhancing interoperability among different devices including IoT – legacy of control systems

09

User-friendly indicators

Smart readiness of buildings and flexibility indicators for easy use

10

Data framework

Interoperable data framework to enable easy data exchange among buildings and energy infrastructure

11

Economic evaluation

Guidelines for performance-based economic evaluation to empower end-users