SEAI and Enterprise Ireland announce winners of innovation competition to develop smart technology solutions
Three winners of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition were announced to develop smart technology solutions for Building Energy Rating (BER). Each company will receive €30,000 from SEAI to research and demonstrate the viability of their solutions to help make BER more influential for homeowners.
The announcement was made by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) together with Enterprise Ireland.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), together with Enterprise Ireland, has announced the three winners of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition to develop smart technology solutions for Building Energy Rating (BER). Each company will receive from SEAI to research and demonstrate the viability of their smart solutions to help make BER more influential for homeowners.
The successful businesses and their proposals are:
- Derilinx through its Energy Data Hub will provide data to property supply chain stakeholders giving them insights into a buildings energy rating.
- Elm Solutions are developing Jouleco a smart solution which connects all BER users and cultivates an active community based around improving home energy efficiency.
- IHER will develop BERWow an application that will help homeowners interpret their BER and help achieve the best possible energy performance for their home.
Commenting SEAI Chief Executive Jim Gannon said: “Smart solutions, including mobile technology, can make BERs more informative and influential in property transactions and upgrades. With more than 600,000 BERs published, there is now a wealth of data to allow valuable comparisons to be made on energy performance. With a number of SEAI programmes reaching advanced stages of maturity, a key short term focus for us is to generate robust and data-driven insights into the most cost effective measures and combinations across both residential and non-residential buildings. These projects represent a starting point and a key strand of this exercise in the residential sector.”
Leo McAdams, Divisional Manager ICT and International Services, Enterprise Ireland added: “Enterprise Ireland is excited to work with SEAI on this innovative initiative, and we congratulate the winners. Our efforts in promoting SBIR are all part of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy to get more Irish businesses delivering creative, innovative solutions for the public sector with potential to sell globally, leading to job creation.”
The companies have three months to develop their solution to pre-prototype stage, after which, up to two will be selected for further funding (up to €150,000) to complete prototype solutions.
What is BER?
A Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificate is an indication of the energy performance of a home. A BER certificate is accompanied by an Advisory Report which identifies how you might improve the energy performance of your home.
BER is the calculated energy use for space and hot water heating, ventilation and lighting based on standard occupancy. A BER is similar to the energy label for a household electrical appliance like your fridge. The label has a scale of A-G. A-rated homes are the most energy efficient and will tend to have the lowest energy bills.
