Meet the E&E Award-winner: Energy Efficiency (Product Innovation) – Heat Genius

Off the back of rising energy bills and the Government's failed Green Deal, the smart thermostats market has seen a rapid growth in sales of late, thanks to the significant carbon and financial savings - and low cost - of the systems for the end-user. Meet the winner of the Energy Efficiency: Product Innovation Award...


It is a business opportunity that has attracted plenty of big players including industry giants Honeywell, Google and British Gas. But one Birmingham-based Internet-of-Things solutions provider has come up with a heating control system that takes this fast-growing market to an exciting new level.

Heat Genius is a new mobile app that effectively acts as a smart heating control system. What makes this system unique? Heat Genius learns when people use each room of their home, so they are never wasting energy by heating empty rooms. Allowing users to schedule each radiator to come on at appropriate times, this ‘fit and forget’ solution offers immediate, significant energy savings at a relatively low cost to the consumer.

By controlling each room individually, Heat Genius claims to save more energy than other ‘smart thermostats’. Additionally, this system doesn’t rely on manual reprogramming by occupants each time their pattern of use changes – making Heat Genius ideal for larger installations, where manually rescheduling all of the rooms would be inconvenient, or where staff or residents can’t be expected to constantly adjust thermostats to save energy.

A single Heat Genius system can include up to 100 different devices; any combination of underfloor heating zones, other zone valves, individual radiators, boilers and heat pumps. Larger systems can be split into multiple networks, each with their own Genius Hub to control it and link it to the Internet

The potential energy savings of this system are huge. A recent study by Microsoft and Lancaster University revealed that intelligent heating controls saved up to 35% of a UK home’s heating bill compared to a traditional thermostat.

Heat Genius has completed hundreds of installations in residential and commercial properties, large and small – in fact, the system is so easy to install that some customers are doing it themselves. The organisation is now looking to expand its commercial offering to housing associations and the care and hospitality industries.

As the UK’s domestic energy market continues its transition to low-carbon, affordable solutions, Heat Genius’s clever heating control system and its multitude of potential applications has emerged as a standout solution.

Judges’ comments

The versatility and scalability of this system makes it a standout solution in the domestic energy market. That Heat Genius can learn when we use each room of our home makes it a truly innovative energy efficiency solution.

Energy Efficiency (Product Innovation): Meet the finalists

VES

Heat recovery ventilation manufacturer VES undertook a roof extract fan replacement project for supermarket chain Tesco, replacing up to 13 old units a day, enabling the business to benefit immediately from energy reductions. VES surveyed each site involved to identify possible energy-saving initiatives, helping Tesco reduce energy consumption and meet carbon reduction commitments. In total, VES saved Tesco 3.9GW of energy – the equivalent of 2,224 acres of forest per year.

Bowman Power Group

Bowman’s Electric Turbo Compounding (ETC) system significantly improves the energy efficiency of reciprocating engines used for power generation by recovering waste energy from the engine exhaust and converting it to free, grid-quality power. More than 600 ETC systems are currently deployed in 11 countries around the world. This installed base has generated over 350GWh of energy, saved over 37 million litres of fuel, and reduced CO2 emissions by over 121,000 tonnes.

LED Eco Lights

Retrofit LED technology provider LED Eco Lights’ SON-style LED lamps are able to provide up to 80% energy reduction on their sodium equivalents. The G360 retrofit LED lamp range addresses four key areas of improvement: the visible design, the operating heat impact, the noise caused by the cooling fan, and energy efficiency. The new LED arrangement enables the LED chips to run brighter so that there is an additional 20% energy saving over its nearest competitor.

Onesynergy

Renewable energy product development firm Airsynergy has developed the PAVEL ventilation system under its Onesynergy brand. PAVEL naturally improves airflow within buildings without the need for any moving parts, practically eliminating maintenance costs and dramatically reducing carbon emissions. The system can be used in isolation or retrofitted with existing HVAC systems. When used in conjunction with existing HVAC systems, the PAVEL decreases energy usage, maintenance costs and noise as a result of reduced running time on mechanical systems and reduced load.

Powermaster Leisure

Powermaster’s Remote Device Monitoring (RDM) system for leisure centres, pools and spas enables the user to remotely access Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) via desktops, laptops and smartphones from anywhere in the world. The system delivers accurate energy savings reports to the client, showing exactly how the VSDs are performing in relation to predicted energy savings, and allows the end user to maximise the energy savings by making specific adjustments to VSD speed.

edie staff

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