Interactive Decentralized Energy & Learning Lab (IDEAL)

In the Energy Home game, the energy demands of everyday electrical household appliances are made transparent through six load profiles. Detailed visualizations and representations of energy requirements help visitors understand fundamental technical concepts like power and energy. Visitors can interactively explore the significance of time flexibility in using household appliances. The game also introduces new electrical consumers from sector coupling and their unique characteristics.

Energy Tetris applies to the concepts of load flexibilization in industrial plants and processes. Real production process load profiles can be scheduled within permissible shift times to align electricity consumption with periods of high renewable feed-in and low electricity costs. This is achieved using data on wind and photovoltaic feed-in, wholesale power prices, and time-resolved CO2 emissions from electricity generation. Energy Tetris can show the effect of onsite decarbonization like heat pumps, onsite generation and charging e-mobility and shows how more flexibility in power demand can decrease the energy costs.

The game Energy Flow focuses on building and decarbonizing an energy supply system using various technologies, while taking into account the (un)desirable interactions with grid operations. Visitors can build an energy system from scratch themselves, shape a sustainable energy transition, and test solutions to real-world problems.
This involves the step-by-step setup and tuning of power generators, electricity consumers, and grid infrastructure to ensure reliable operation. In the next step, the decarbonization of the energy supply begins through the expansion of renewable power generation using wind power and photovoltaics. Subsequently, decarbonization continues through the electrification of heating, transportation, and consumer production processes to reduce CO₂ emissions. The rising demand for electricity is addressed through the necessary increase in renewable power generation and grid capacity, and is supported by technologies from the ENSURE project, which reduce the need for grid expansion.