Europe’s historic buildings attract visitors from across the world. However, keeping the popular historic sites energy-efficient without significant construction works can be somewhat of a challenge. The EU-funded project SEEMPUBS plans on using a new ICT-based monitoring, visualisation and control system to reduce the buildings’ energy consumption, cope with already-installed energy systems and avoid potential damages caused by crucial building interventions.
The FP7-funded SEEMPUBS project has established a new computer-based system that has the ability to control lighting, heaters, air-conditioners and other environmental units in large buildings. The SEEMPUBS technology includes a central control software system connected wirelessly to energy structures placed in different parts of the building or even multiple buildings.
Professor Enrico Macii from the Polytechnic University of Turin says, “Beyond any actual hardware, the most significant result has been the elaboration of an energy-efficient model for existing buildings and public spaces. This model can be applied to many different historic buildings where legacy energy systems are already in place, avoiding expensive construction work, disruption and possible damage.”
The functionality of this system is already being demonstrated on existing buildings at the Politecnico Campus, and the Valentino Castle. Through comparison between reference and test rooms, average weekly savings ranging from 27% to 36% have been observed in heating energy during the winter period. These savings ranged from 63% to 74% for cooling energy in the summer period.
A great economic potential
Light, temperature and humidity are often very difficult to control in historic buildings. “Typically, these historic buildings have individual heaters and air conditioning units in different rooms,” Macii says. “There is no central environmental control. So someone has to walk around to the different rooms, read temperature gauges and other sensors, and then adjust the heating and other units manually.”
The SEEMPUBS systems bring together building services, electronic devices, and operations as a way to optimise and integrate all maintenance functions. When possible, existing building management systems are left in place, while new hardware allowing fine-grained monitoring and control can be added.
The SEEMPUBS operator can actually visualise different spaces and navigate through the building virtually, obtaining an overview of the entire interlinked system of environmental and energy control.
The project has also developed a handheld app enabling users to visualise and inspect numerous environmental systems as they walk through the building, providing real time light, temperature, humidity and other data, as well as architectural and structural information.
The project partners believe that the economic potential is significant, including the creation of a market for ICT-based solutions that integrate new and existing technologies, and opening doors to new services, from the design of customised systems to operations and maintenance.
One project partner is currently working on a commercial version of the methodology, including a beta-release of the supporting software. Another partner is also exploiting some of the outcomes of the project, namely those concerning sensor technologies, to enhance its portfolio of sensor devices devoted to ambient sensing and monitoring. Finally, the features of the SEEMPUBS methodology are currently being extended for applicability, at the district level in the context of another EU-funded R&D project, DIMMER.
The project also sees a new collaborative framework ultimately taking place between the ICT and building and construction sectors, exploiting opportunities for the development of ICT-based systems in compliance with the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
“We are doing all of this while at the same time achieving more efficient and sustainable options,” Macii says. “The result is reduced energy consumption, cost savings and a ‘greener’ overall environmental performance. We also want to raise citizen awareness, especially among youngsters, of the positive impact new technologies can have over the mid- to long-term. For this, we have developed a game names SEEMPubSDice using augmented reality technologies and a theatre show entitled ToBeSmart.”
The game enables players to interact with elements of the project (wireless sensors, temperature sensors, light bulbs, old electric wires etc.) and to monitor the impact energy management can have on the overall energy consumption of a building. The theatre show, which was played twice, used special projection technologies to teach the audience the basics of the project’s technological development.
The SEEMPUBS project, which was completed in September 2013, collected 9 partners from 5 countries and received EUR 2 900 000 of funding under the EU’s Framework Programme 7 (FP7).
Contributing Source: European Commission, CORDIS
Header Image Source: ThinkStock
