A SCOTTISH company is to pilot its innovative energy and carbon-saving device at London’s Heathrow Airport.
CircoSense submitted its CircoSense3000 smart technology device after the Innovation Gateway asked innovators and small businesses to come forward with new eco-ideas for Heathrow’s commercial properties.
The appliance is attached to the hot water system and reduces the amount of energy that is currently wasted in secondary return systems, which are installed in commercial buildings. It does this by “learning” the hot water usage patterns of the building, gathering a baseline reading and using this data to predict future usage.
Its smart technology then ensures that hot water is always available on demand, whilst turning off the pump when demand is lower and a constant flow is not required. This can reduce energy consumption in the systems by more than 40 per cent – through preventing the circulation of water at times of no demand.
David Jolliffe, the company’s managing director, said: “CircoSense are absolutely delighted to be selected as a successful applicant for round one 2016 of the Innovation Gateway Challenge.
“This opportunity to trial our innovative smart technology at Heathrow Airport will allow us to demonstrate the energy savings which can be achieved within hot water systems of commercial properties through the installation of CircoSense.
“We are excited to install our device in such a high profile location, as this will increase the brand awareness of our product and provide an excellent reference site for other interested parties.
“In addition, this is a fantastic opportunity for our company to establish valuable contacts within such high profile organisations as the gateway partners.”
The Innovation Gateway is a partnership involving Royal Bank of Scotland – which founded it two years ago – Sainsbury’s, Carillion and Heathrow Airport to crowdsource solutions that can help to solve the environmental challenges all the businesses face.
Its aims are to help large companies save more energy, water and waste, to nurture new innovations and to help local inventors take their ideas to market.
CircoSense is one of only 11 companies selected from the applications that flooded in from the UK and beyond, to help achieve sustainability targets across a range of property sizes and types.
Their innovation was pitched to a panel of representatives from the partnership at Lancaster University in July.
Since being selected for the programme, the company has carried out three site surveys at Heathrow Airport where the CircoSense3000 will be installed for its trial.
The device was created using patented cognitive technology and can be installed in a range of buildings, including schools, hotels, leisure centres, care homes, offices and shopping centres.
It has already been installed at buildings across the UK for a variety of clients, including Renfrewshire and Ealing councils and West College Scotland in Greenock, with an average of 42 per cent of savings on water heating costs across the sites.
The CircoSense has also undergone an independent test programme by the Strathclyde Eco-Innovation Unit (SEIU) from the University of Strathclyde which verified the 42 per cent savings.
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