Engineer

Three year project focused to improve the energy efficiency of multi-occupancy apartment blocks by overcoming the barriers experienced during the retrofit process. The toolkits provided advice and information on retrofit and were designed to overcome a number of known barriers.

The EnerGAware project's main objective was to decrease energy consumption and emissions in an affordable housing pilot and increase the affordable housing tenants’ understanding and engagement in energy efficiency. The EnerGAware project developed and tested, in 100 affordable homes, a serious game that was linked to the actual energy consumption (smart meter data) of the game user’s home and embedded in social media and networking tools. The EnerGAware solution provided an innovative IT ecosystem in which users could design their own virtual home and Avatar and learn about the potential energy savings, from installing energy-efficiency measures and changing user behaviour, whilst maintaining the comfort of their Avatar.

AirEx developed the first affordable smart air brick solution for the retrofit housing market. The product is an IoT-enabled smart ventilation control system that replaces conventional airbricks in pre-1950s dwellings. It monitors relevant environmental parameters like temperature and humidity and subsequently opens or closes air-vents to optimise ventilation. Using cloud-based IoT algorithms, AirEx minimises cold airflow whilst ensuring sufficient air exchange to prevent moisture build-up, timber rot or poor indoor air quality.

A technical study on Energy Poverty in the city of Madrid, which disclosed 23% of households at risk of energy poverty and pointed out households headed by women among most disadvantaged groups.

EnergyKeeper aimed to design, develop and test a novel, scalable, sustainable and cost competitive flow battery based on organic redox active materials. This battery helped remote communities, along with the implementation of RES equipments, to have a more stable and cheaper access to electricity. The partners advanced the technology of metal-free, organic RFB from laboratory to prototype scale.

The project trains local workers, performs home audits, and intervenes in homes.

The project aimed to offer support for insulating and heating houses, complemented by educating families about proper heating solutions in order to improve children health status as well as investing in development of new skills, which allowed beneficiaries to find a job.

UP-STAIRS removed the barriers to citizen participation in the transition from a consumer-market to a ‘prosumer-market’. This transition required active learning and participation from all stakeholders. The UP-STAIRS Energy Service Framework enabled local authorities and citizens to work together through a common structure embodied in a one-stop-shop.

TIGER is experimenting with a new model to gather financing means for refurbishment in social housing through an holistic apporach, having a direct impact on the wellness of the inhabitants and fostering capacity building on the theme of energy poverty.

Although the main objective of the sustaiNAVility project was to support sustainability at the regional level of Navarra, the project focused on helping vulnerable groups.