Roel Loonen

Roel Loonen is an Associate Professor at the Unit Building Physics and Services within Eindhoven University of Technology's Department of the Built Environment. Since October 2024, he has joined the EIRES Management Team, leading the Energy Transition in the Built Environment focus area alongside Lenneke Kuijer. His work emphasizes integrating energy efficiency with occupant comfort through advanced building simulation techniques.

• Academic Affiliation: Eindhoven University of Technology
• Management Role: EIRES Management Team
• Research Focus: Adaptive facades, building-integrated renewable energy, and occupant behavior modeling

Loonen’s research explores modeling and simulation strategies for buildings that reconcile high indoor quality with minimal environmental impact. Key projects include collaborations with eyrise on solar shading glass and TNO on the ZIEZO project, which experiments with insulated glazing units that combine solar shading with bifacial photovoltaics at the SolarBEAT facility. His work spans computational methods for urban irradiation, occupant-facade interaction frameworks, and multi-domain thermal comfort modeling.

The ZIEZO project exemplifies his approach to energy-efficient design by redirecting reflected light to enhance photovoltaic output while maintaining daylight comfort. His publications address challenges in adaptive façade systems, PV integration, and sensitivity analysis for heating demand. Loonen advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge technical innovation with societal implementation needs.

Loonen’s educational contributions include co-teaching the interdepartmental master course Sustainable Energy Technology and developing interactive simulation-based teaching tools. He emphasizes connecting energy-related research to practical implementation through stakeholder engagement with municipalities, building companies, and grid operators.

Key facilities involved in his research include SolarBEAT (for testing solar technologies) and TU/e’s simulation laboratories. His work addresses urban energy transitions by combining building physics with grid interactions, occupant behavior, and scalable PV system optimization.