Portrait | Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gero Guzek - Building Energy Technology

A. Schreyer: Congratulations on your appointment as Professor of Building Energy Technology at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig. Can you briefly explain the areas of responsibility associated with your professorship?

Prof Dr Gero GuzekThank you very much, Mrs Schreyer! I am very pleased to be a member of the HTWK family since 01.04.2023!

The professorship "Building Energy Technology" is a core professorship for the study of energy, building and environmental technology at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and is of fundamental importance, especially for the further development of the HTWK profile line "Building and Energy". The professorship forms an interface between energy technology, electrical engineering and information technology as well as architecture and civil engineering. Expertise in the field of heating technology and drinking water hygiene is to be maintained and expanded and developed, particularly in the areas of the use of renewable energies and BIM methods in building energy technology. A particular focus here is on the approach of integral planning and the teaching of skills for optimal project realisation in the conflicting areas of costs, deadlines and quality. To date, systems, buildings and users have each been able to achieve significant energy savings on their own. Further potential often only lies in the optimal interaction of the aforementioned components. Research therefore focuses on energy design with the use of sustainable energy systems, energy monitoring, studies on thermal comfort and user behaviour in intelligent buildings. In sanitary engineering, maintaining the maximum drinking water temperature in cold water networks and the required minimum temperature in drinking water and circulation networks is of great importance to ensure drinking water hygiene and is therefore also a research focus.

Since 2019, I have been teaching "Safer Projects" in the summer semester at the HTWK in the master's module "Special areas of building technology" in energy, building and environmental technology. In this module, practical skills are taught to make building technology projects "safer", in particular through successful project preparation, system planning, use of digital tools, commissioning management, building automation, holistic energy concepts, building certifications, practical examples - added value, business etiquette and much more. In the winter semester 2022/23, I already taught sanitary engineering for the Bachelor's degree programme in Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering and was able to contribute my experience as an expert in drinking water hygiene. The module Expansion/Technical Building Services, which I have also been able to accompany since the winter semester 2022/23, is a joint module for students of the Master's degree programmes in Civil Engineering and Industrial Engineering and consists of teaching content on expansion (KG 300) from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Fundamentals of Technical Building Services (KG 400) from the Faculty of ING. In the winter semester, in addition to the module "Technical Building Services in Practice" for the Master's degree course in Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering and Applied Building Technology/Software Application for Master's students of Industrial Engineering, the interdisciplinary module "Digitalisation BIM" is offered for the Master's degree course in Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering. In this module, the BIM methodology is "lived" by the students with the individual trades of object planning, supporting structure, façade, building operation, fire protection, technical building equipment and others. This is exciting and is very well received by the students. I was lucky enough to get a taste of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in the winter semester 2022/23.

Since the summer semester of 2023, I have been teaching the "Heating Technology" module for the Bachelor's degree programme in Energy, Building and Environmental Technology - Energy and Building Technology profile line and "Environmentally friendly building technology" for the Environmental Technology profile line. I am also pleased to currently supervise 11 internship, Bachelor's and Master's theses.

A. Schreyer: How did you decide to specialise in this area of research and teaching? Did you already know which path you wanted to take before you started your studies?

Prof Guzek: Building energy technology is an exciting field. There are currently few topics that are discussed more than, for example, the heat generator of the future or possible solutions to drinking water shortages.

After completing my apprenticeship as an electrician with a high school diploma, it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to work in the technical field and that the spectrum should at best be quite broad. The HTWK offered a degree programme in energy and supply engineering, at that time in Markleeberg. I opted for the programme and successfully completed my studies in 1997. After that, it was important for me to gain experience, especially in technical installations in buildings. I was lucky enough, which was not a matter of course at the time, to be able to start a job as a project manager for technical building services at Stangl in Halle straight after graduating and was entrusted with everything from smaller projects to large-scale projects (including HVU Allianz Unterföhring - sprinkler technology, Alexa Shopping Centre Berlin - heating and sanitary technology, AIRRAIL - later Squaire - ventilation technology - Frankfurt/Main). I kept in touch with the HTWK and decided in 2005 to do a part-time doctorate in co-operation with the TU Dresden. It was a challenging time, as in addition to the actual preparation of the dissertation using coupled thermal building and system simulation using TRNSYS-TUD, I had to prove that I had successfully completed the basic subjects of heating, indoor air and simulation technology, renewable energies, energy management evaluation and heat supply (30 credit hours in total). At the end of 2009, I successfully completed my dissertation on the topic of "Energy savings in heating systems through hydraulic balancing" in the presence of my supervisors Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Wolfgang Richter and Prof. Dr Rainer Agsten.

This was followed by a career as a branch manager for TGA in Magdeburg and later I started working as a consultant in a service company, where I still work as a consultant. My main focus is on advising investors and building owners on their construction projects and existing properties, as well as on buying and selling, technically and economically in the field of building energy technology with a focus on heating, plumbing, air conditioning and building automation, and on minimising risks. In doing so, it has always been and still is crucial to provide concrete added value, be it meeting deadlines, professional expertise in the commissioning/acceptance/takeover of technical systems, energy efficiency using renewable energies or developing a customised energy concept for the customer. The energy solution does not always have to be complicated. It can be simple, should be sustainable, affordable and well thought out.

In 2020, it quickly became clear to me to apply for the professorship in building energy technology and I am delighted that they chose me. I enjoy working with young people. We expect a lot from them as our future key players, whether as experts or managers. I am therefore delighted to be able to help them meet the immense demands of the future.

A. Schreyer: What skills and interests do you think students who decide to study Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering should have?

Prof Guzek : I consider a solid basic knowledge, especially in the STEM subjects, to be a basic requirement. I think you should also have an interest in energy-related issues. A portion of curiosity and an open mind, especially with regard to variant analyses of technical systems, would be an advantage. In addition to the technical skills, I also teach soft skills in the modules that enable you to move confidently in the business world, whether as an expert or a manager.

A. Schreyer: What new projects would you like to realise in the future?

Prof. Guzek : I see collaborations with industrial partners and research focuses on maintaining thermal comfort, user behaviour, energy savings during operation - monitoring and others.

I am currently supporting ideas for the energy-efficient refurbishment of the HTWK Leipzig gymnasium. In addition, I am currently involved in energy-related issues for Stadtwerke Leipzig together with Prof Schneider and Prof Huhn. Fortunately, I already have access to a well-equipped laboratory for heating technology and drinking water hygiene at the ING faculty. In addition to energy-related answers, society expects us to provide answers, particularly with regard to compliance with drinking water hygiene. I am currently working on a joint research project with a building technology supplier, which involves the use of disruptive sensors in drinking water technology to make it easier to carry out hydraulic balancing and to control the necessary water temperatures to prevent legionella infestation.

Other future projects are interesting in the CSB (Customised Smart Building) area in order to give users the greater presence they deserve.