Smart Building and Community Energy Management Research Laboratory
Location : ZN803 and ZN1001 (Living Laboratory)
Host Department: BEEE
Space: 80 m2
The Smart Building and Community Energy Management Research Laboratory was established with funding support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Project: 2021YFE0107400). The laboratory's research focuses on developing AI-empowered management technologies for individual buildings, building-integrated energy systems, building clusters, and distributed energy systems. Equipped with two high-performance servers and a self-developed AI-empowered smart energy management platform/Digital Twin, the laboratory currently manages the real-time operation of chiller plants in buildings and campus. Additionally, the laboratory features a living laboratory equipped with a full set of IoT data acquisition, communication, and control devices for the development of smart occupant-in-the-loop built environment control technologies and edge devices. The primary goal is to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, enhance energy resilience, and improve the quality of the built environment and occupants' satisfaction.
Intelligent Building Laboratory
Research Focus Area: Smart Buildings and Smart Energy Systems
Location : ZN804
Host Department: BEEE
Space: 60 m2
Intelligent Building (IB) Laboratory aims to conduct interdisciplinary research to provide innovative building management and control solutions to smart cities. The IB Laboratory provides facilities for R&D on intelligent building technologies, including the development of advanced building system control, energy management and diagnosis strategies, big building operational data analytics, demand response strategies for smart grids and network communication software. The laboratory also facilitates the teaching and learning of relevant subjects for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the department.
Theme Based Smart MicroGrid Research Laboratory
Research Focus Area:
Smart District Energy Systems and Smart Building Micro-Grids
Location: AG713
Host department/unit: EEE
Area : 64 m2
The Theme Based Smart MicroGrid Research Laboratory was established in 2014 with funding supports by RGC via two Theme Based Research Scheme projects and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The Laboratory is well equipped with state-of-the-art smart grid research facilities such as programmable AC/DC sources and electric loads, power amplifiers, smart inverters, battery energy system, a PV microgrid system with advanced sensing and monitoring devices. The focused research areas include novel operation and control methods for smart grids/microgrids with high renewables, grid integration of renewable energy systems and EVs, and electricity market planning and management etc.
Solar Simulator Laboratory
Research Focus Area: Advanced and Renewable Energy Conversion Technologies
Location: ZN1013
Host department: BEEE
Area of the lab : 50 m2
A large advanced solar simulator is installed in the laboratory. Students and researchers can carry out different solar energy research experiments including solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, solar cooling and solar lighting system tests. The thermal performance of PV modules, solar collectors and BIPV/T modules can be tested in the lab. Comparison tests of energy-saving building envelope materials can be tested as well. Another small solar simulator is also provided to test the electrical characteristics of solar cells and small PV modules.
Renewable Energy Laboratory
Research Focus Area: Advanced and Renewable Energy Conversion Technologies and Advanced Energy Materials
Location: ZS1004
Host department: BEEE
Area of the lab: 20 m2
Renewable Energy Laboratory is a platform for fundamental and applied researches on the technology applied in solar energy and green building in collaboration with industry and leading academic institutions, aiming to give advanced and innovative technological solutions for renewable energy generation and sustainable built environment. The laboratory's major R&D activities mainly focus on exploring nanotechnology with functional coatings, solar energy materials, green and thermal-efficient building envelope materials, and green energy harvesting materials. The laboratory provides researchers and students with advanced instruments for the synthesis and related performance assessment of the functional materials.
Advanced Materials and Electronics Laboratory
Research Focus Area: Advanced Energy Materials
Location: BC701
Host department: EEE
Area of the lab: 46 m2
The Advanced Materials and Electronics Laboratory aims at developing high performance thin film electronic devices from solution processable advanced materials. The focused material areas are organic semiconductors and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite semiconductors. The devices focus on are photovoltaic cells, light emitting devices, photodiodes etc. The research includes fundamental scientific understanding on materials, morphology, interface, high performance devices, as well as engineering issues towards device scale-up and stability. The laboratory is equipped with the state-of-the-art material processing, device fabrication, characterization equipment.
Materials Synthesis Laboratory
Research Focus Area: Advanced Energy Materials
Location: Y1306
Host department/unit: ABCT
Area: 90 m2
The laboratory aims at the synthesis, identification, purification and processing of advanced molecular and nano energy materials.
Laboratory for Flexible Energy Materials and Devices
Research Focus Area: Advanced Energy Materials
Location: W602 and QT806
Host department/unit: SFT
Area : 80 m2
We develop new materials, structures, and devices toward
1) high-energy density, ultraflexible and safe rechargeable batteries;
2) high-performance, flexible and printable electrodes (transparent and opaque) for photovoltaics