Welcome to the Institute for Water and Energy Management at Hof University of Applied Sciences

Project, Bachelor or Master theses

The following topics are currently available as project, bachelor or master theses:

"Potential analysis for basement-integrated thermal storage systems in Germany" (for student assistants or as a Bachelor's thesis)
"Optimisation of thermal stratified storage systems using numerical flow simulation (OpenFOAM)"
"Energetic simulation of complex building systems using EnergyPlus"
"Translating a Matlab code into a licence-free code (possibly Python, C++) and developing a graphical user interface"
Bachelor's thesis - "Creation of a project structure plan based on the project planning of a building area"
"Development of sustainable and cost-efficient methods for the summer air-conditioning of living spaces in existing buildings"
Numerical optimisation of a multi-objective function for the project: "Maximisation of PV self-consumption by combining a chiller and an ice battery"
"Commissioning and calibration of a remote control system of a pilot plant with subsequent automated test execution"
"Investigation of the potential of a flooded propane evaporator based on manufacturer's data"
"Preliminary investigation for the development of a mini Pelton turbine"
"Development of a concept for decentralised heat supply for tenant communities"

If you are interested in one of our advertised topics, please contact Ms Miriam Scholz (miriam.scholz@hof-university.de). You are also welcome to send us a speculative application.

Research areas and staff

The institute

As an institute with a broad portfolio of competencies, we deal with current issues of water and energy management in a changing society and the current advance of digitalisation.

Foundation

The Institute for Water and Energy Management was founded in 2015. As an institute of the Engineering Department, it combined research and teaching from the very beginning in order to further enhance the university's profile in the field of Green Tech. A year earlier, the Bavarian state government had already pledged 17 million euros for the establishment of a new institute by the then State Minister for Education and Culture, Science and the Arts, Dr. Ludwig Spaenle. The city of Hof, which was appointed Bavaria's centre of competence for water by Markus Söder in 2010, will thus be further upgraded.

Development

From the beginning, five research group leaders have been working scientifically at the institute. The number of scientific staff is growing steadily, currently, there are around 20 researchers working at the Institute. The iwe focuses on initiating and implementing application-oriented research and development projects in the core areas of water and energy and links these with the cross-sectional area of digitalisation. The first major project to be launched in 2017 was the Green Technology Workshop Hof, which received around 1.5 million euros in funding. The aim is to develop new products, processes and services that are characterised by a particularly high level of innovation and can be used directly in cooperating institutions.

Perspectives

In the future, the focus on "water and energy" at Hof University of Applied Sciences is to be further deepened in a research-oriented manner and in cooperation with companies (regional and national). Since the approval of the state parliament, nothing stands in the way of the construction of the institute's own research building. The foundation stone for the ZWE (Centre for Water and Energy) was laid in summer 2020. The innovative and energy-autonomous building should be ready for occupancy in about two years, which is why funds must now be acquired for the initial equipment. The building will not only provide space for research and teaching, but will itself be a research object within the framework of future-oriented building technology.