Project description
Smart cooling technology to reduce energy consumption
The rising demand for air conditioners requires more electricity generation. To make cooling more efficient, higher efficiency standards have been set for air conditioners. The EU-funded CSMS project is taking it one step further by developing new plug-and-play technology that uses the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and machine learning. This system can analyse a building’s thermodynamic map and usage patterns, as well as analyse hourly weather forecasts. With this information, it maintains the chiller water to an optimal temperature. In turn, this has proven (in prototype trials) to reduce electricity consumption by up to 35 %. The CSMS project will develop the most suitable go-to-market strategy and prepare for productising the technology.
Objective
Air-conditioning is a vital technology in many regions to ensure comfort, health and productivity but it consumes a lot of
electricity and is thus expensive and environmentally harmful if fossil fuel-based electricity is used. Commercial chillers used in large buildings, such as hotels and office blocks, account for more than 30% of installed a/c capacity
worldwide. However, the technology used is static and dated: it chills the water to a very low temperature so that it can cope
with extremely hot weather, irrespective of the actual prevailing conditions. Keeping the chiller water colder than it needs to
be leads to excess electricity consumption. Elencon has invented and developed a unique plug-and-play technology: using
IoT sensors and machine learning, the system analyses a building's thermodynamic map and usage patterns and
combines this with hourly weather forecasts and dynamic electricity pricing to set the chiller water to an optimal temperature,
which is almost always higher than current set minimums. Prototype trials have shown that this reduces electricity
consumption by 25 - 35%. In the case of one of our trial customers, a hotel in Tel Aviv, this translates into savings of €
70,000 p.a. The energy savings increase with the installed cooling power and frequency of use, which means that users of
facilities with high cooling requirements save the most. We believe that our serviceable addressable market in Southern
Europe and Israel is worth hundreds of millions, and that the global market is worth billions. Our technology is at TRL 7 and
we've validated a shared savings model e.g. with large hotel chain, as well as with distributors in Israel, Italy
and
Cyprus. With our Phase 1 project, we aim to develop the most suitable go-to-market strategy, ensure can serve key-segments and prepare for productizing our technology.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorology
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternetinternet of things
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringthermodynamic engineering
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
4060630 TEL MOND
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.