Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LTT (Long-term testing of airtightness to increase energy efficiency in buildings.)

Teaser

According to the International Energy Agency, global energy consumption is split 40%, 32%, and 28% between buildings, industry, and transportation respectively leaving buildings as the largest energy consumer on a global basis. Furthermore, 12.5% of that energy leaks out...

Summary

According to the International Energy Agency, global energy consumption is split 40%, 32%, and 28% between buildings, industry, and transportation respectively leaving buildings as the largest energy consumer on a global basis. Furthermore, 12.5% of that energy leaks out implying a total energy waste of 5% globally due to leakages alone. While building codes historically have become stricter a significant amount of today’s buildings are built a long time ago and thus are significantly more leaky than those built recent years. However, approximately 9 out of 10 buildings existing in 2050 are already built. As a result we need to do something about the current buildings in order to reduce the global energy waste.

Buildings leak energy when air passes through the building envelope. This leakage may go both ways and is a function of pressure differences between the inside and the outside of the building envelope. This leakage can cause considerable energy loss in heated as well as in cooled buildings. The most common approach to this problem is to attempt to close off or seal openings through which air may flow. However, retrofitting of old buildings in order to achieve significant energy savings are costly. An alternative approach is to control the air pressure inside the building such that the difference between outside and inside air pressure is minimized. This approach requires knowledge of the properties of the building as well as knowledge of current conditions both inside and outside of the building.

Airtight offers the technology in order to measure the differential pressure and adjust the pressure using the building’s existing infrastructure.

The objective of the project is to bring our patented LTT (Airtight autopilot) solution to full market maturation.

Work performed

Our first activities included the initial technical and physical design of our sensors where we focused on scalability and durability. It resulted in a test batch produced. We, together with some test clients, installed several sensors and harvested data and gained experience in pains and gains for both customers as well as for ourselves.

The test period led to a redesigning of our products in order to implement the best communication module, fitting our services while maintaining a focus on global reach going forward. We arrived at three relevant integration types:

1) Direct integration: Integration through self-developed ventilation controller (frequency converter).

2) Adapter: Self-produced adapter connecting to the ventilation system’s top-system.

3) Application Programming Interface (API): An API integration enables direct wireless connection from a remote location without a physical adapter or the like connected to the system.

Through the integration mapping and assessment process, we achieved a far greater understanding of the integration needs and the necessity of installation partners/integration partners going forward, as we found that each building setup is different from the other.

Other significant activities during the first part of the project period includes 1) NPA analysis securing our intellectual properties through a) freedom to operate and b) patent application filing, website development, and 3) stakeholder and narrowing of initial scale-up markets.

While our initial focus was to look at both the residential as well as commercial real estate market, we have, as a result of market mapping, and technical functionality together with our pricing strategy shifted our focus to solely the commercial real estate market as of now. This is due to 1) almost all non-residential buildings having a ventilation system which is not the case for residential buildings in Europe, and 2) the building size allows for a better cost/benefit ratio for the customer and thus a lower bar for purchasing our service.

Final results

The goal of Airtight’s system is to significantly reduce the global energy waste. Currently we are rolling out a prototype version with early adopter clients both in Norway as well as in selected international markets and seeing positive feedback. We will analyze all data and calculate the actual energy reduction as a result of our services.

In addition to reducing energy waste, our system can help reduce the need for expensive retrofitting of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC) and/or drastic remodeling initiatives, thus resulting in significantly lower costs for building owners. In addition, we see initial positive effects of building health as air flows the right way limiting moisture in the construction. The two elements are being tested through a use case with a customer.

Furthermore we believe we will see a positive effect on indoor air quality as we can ensure all air moving through the envelope is filtrated through the ventilation. This should have a positive health effect on employees.

In addition, as we aim to reduce energy costs, the financial means saved could be reinvested into growing businesses, which again could lead to reduction in unemployment.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.airtight.ai.