PhD Candidate in control and optimization for smart-grid ready buildings

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NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree

We are looking for a PhD candidate on the topic of Modeling of building HVAC components and on-site renewable energy systems to enable smart grid-ready buildings at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The EU Horizon Innovation Action project “Enabling smart-grid ready building through integrated solutions and digital technologies – ENTRANCE“ provides funding for this position. The ENTRANCE project includes national and international partners from industry and research in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and Estonia. The project is encompassing six pilot projects in the partner countries.

The appointment has a duration of three years. 

The position is linked to the Department of Energy and Process Engineering and the Sustainable Energy Systems group. The group has a well-established expertise in energy supply systems, building energy services, and renewables. Research activities within the group range from building energy use, building energy supply, indoor environment, energy efficiency, building services, control and automation, energy planning, building performance modelling and simulation, to energy storage. The group was strongly involved in the Norwegian FME Research Centre on Zero Emission Neighborhoods in Smart Cities (ZEN) as well as in various national and international projects, e.g. IEA Tasks or EBC Annexes. The group is responsible for the HVAC laboratory in the department.

The PhD position will be supervised by Professor Natasa Nord at NTNU.

Enabling smart-grid ready building through integrated solutions and digital technologies – ENTRANCE

The aim of ENTRANCE is to enable smart-grid-ready and decarbonized buildings through the integration of energy efficiency, flexibility, on-site renewables, mobility, empowerment of end-users, and interoperability between buildings and district heating and electricity grids. The ambition of ENTRANCE is to develop and demonstrate solutions that promote building integration and active participation in the energy system and market through guaranteeing end-users’ comfort and empowerment while creating value for the economic actors of the energy landscape. ENTRANCE aims to revolutionize building-to-grid integration by designing new and upgrading existing technical solutions and physical interfaces. ENTRANCE will design innovative and competitive solutions to facilitate building active participation in the energy market, by tapping on the synergies of the cutting-edge digital technologies, on-site energy generation, and energy flexibility to provide services to the electricity and district heating grids.
 

The PhD position with the topic on modeling of building HVAC components and on-site renewable energy systems to enable smart grid-ready buildings

The field of work will be to develop building simulation models with HVAC systems, energy supply systems, on-site renewable energy systems, and physical interfaces between buildings and energy infrastructure, such as district heating and electricity grid. Energy flexibility, mobility, empowerment of end-users, and economic benefits should be considered. In addition, optimal utilization of existing equipment in renovated buildings, legacy of the equipment for energy flexibility, and interfaces with the energy infrastructure should be assessed. The aim of the PhD work is to develop novel methods for the design and sizing of HVAC components and on-site renewable energy systems. These methods will consider energy flexibility, interaction with the energy infrastructure, empowerment of end-users, legacy of the equipment, and economic benefits. The candidate will work on building performance simulation models and pilots to provide guidelines on the design and operation of smart grid-ready buildings. Further, the candidate should closely collaborate with the Norwegian industry partner and other partners involved in the project. Within the project at NTNU, the candidate should work closely with another PhD candidate investigating the control and optimization aspects for the same topic.

Duties of the position

• Completion of required academic PhD training consisting of courses (minimum 30 ECTS credits)
• Review of relevant research field
• Simulation of smart grid-ready buildings considering energy flexibility and interaction with energy infrastructure
• Collection and organization of necessary measurements and industry data for the case studies to be simulated
• Collaboration with the other PhD candidates at NTNU and the other researchers in the project to support the project development
• Contribution to writing project reports
• Optimization of the system design and component properties to enable smart grid-ready buildings
• Collaboration with the national and international partners in the project
• Development of documentation for the established models
• The PhD candidate shall publish the research outcome in at least three internationally recognized peer-reviewed journal papers.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in HVAC Engineering, Energy Engineering, or Energy and Process Engineering
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must have good knowledge about energy in buildings, energy efficiency, district heating, energy flexibility, simulation and modelling, and control of HVAC systems
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position to be able to apply for the PhD admission.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program.
• High experience with communication in English, both written and oral

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Very good knowledge of building performance simulation tools such as IDA-ICE and EnergyPlus
• Very good knowledge of Modelica or similar modelling tools
• Strong programming skills (e.g. MATLAB, Python or similar) 
• Very good knowledge about energy in buildings and energy efficiency
• Knowledge of European standards is a merit
• Knowledge of Scandinavian languages

Personal characteristics

• Both analytical and creative in way of thinking
• Motivated, ambitious, and eager to «walk new paths»
• Skilled in practical matters
• Collaborative, open-minded and able to take initiative, able to work independently and in a team, with a high degree of personal responsibility
• Excellent communication skills, both written and orally
• Eager to disseminate knowledge, both nationally and internationally.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• Exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• An open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is three years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

In order for us to evaluate your application, it must include the following:  

• A motivation letter describing the motivation for this position 
• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project proposal on a maximum 10 pages (the use of generative artificial intelligence tools to develop this project proposal should be clearly stated)
• Name and contact information of three referees
• Publications and other relevant academic works if relevant, with a brief description of contributions 
• Other enclosures such as recommendation letters.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

EPT has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female Research Assistants, PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the academic careers of female employees, and is also made visible to our student body, to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we continue to build on our international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Natasa Nord, telephone +47 480 61 848, e-mail natasa.nord@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-consultant Renate Fjellheim, e-mail: renate.fjellheim@ntnu.no.
 

The city of Trondheim has a population of 200,000. It is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene and is known as the innovation capital of Norway. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is among the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available, as is children's education (including international schools). Trondheim has low crime rates and clean air quality and offers the possibility to enjoy nature, culture and family life.

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 3rd of November 2024

DIVERSE INFO

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