Informed comfort: natural-language interaction with home heating and cooling

Official occupation: ph.d., naturvidenskab og teknik. Employment conditions: Almindelige vilkår. Employer CVR: 31119103. Primary career market: Construction & Built Environment (employer-sector evidence).

Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Civil and Architectural Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 January 2027 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title Informed comfort: natural-language interaction with home heating and cooling Research area and project description Predictive control can reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions of heating and cooling homes. However, its performance depends on knowing when residents are home and what they find comfortable.

You will develop a natural-language interface, based on a large language model, between residents and a predictive controller. Residents can then tell the controller, when they are away, report how the rooms feel, or ask for a warmer bathroom etc. In return, the controller explains what it did and why, shows what the next hours cost in money and CO2, and suggests alternatives that residents can accept or decline.

The comfort limits are thus set by the residents; with the information they need. This dialogue can save energy in three ways1 …