Noova Energy Control

The control technology contributes, among other things, to reduced energy costs related to heating and ventilation.

– With the new technology we have indications that we can achieve an energy reduction of up to 30 percent. The sensors also capture information from the air in the ventilation system, so that we can map the indoor climate around the clock, explains Team Leader responsible for fire and energy at Enebakk Municipality, Henrik Kirkeby Wara.

– We have many buildings that do not function quite as they should. The ambition is that by adopting wireless sensors we will not only collect data and get to know our buildings better, but also that the new technology will help us manage our buildings more effectively, says Kirkeby Wara.

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Testing in four buildings

The municipality has therefore signed a framework agreement with Energy Control, a company that over time has built up specialist expertise in real estate technology and energy management of buildings. The framework agreement with Enebakk Municipality initially covers four buildings: a school building, an office building, a nursery and a fire station.

– We want to use these buildings to gain experience that we can at a later stage apply to other buildings, says the municipality’s procurement manager, Steinar Byberg Hansen.

He explains that the municipality is at the forefront of welfare technology, with extensive use of sensors in care homes, for example.

– We recognise much of the technology from there and can see that this is the direction things are heading. With the framework agreement with Energy Control, we are continuing on the same technology track, says Byberg Hansen.

Well ahead of the curve

Enebakk Municipality’s technology journey began when they attended a professional gathering organised by Energy Control at Sundvolden just over a year ago.

– We had heard a little about the company’s new approach to energy and indoor climate challenges in buildings. We wanted to hear more, both from the company itself and from customers and users of the technology, says Kirkeby Wara.

Christian Hope at Energy Control explains that many — both private actors and municipalities — still have difficulty fully believing in new technology.

– For many, wireless technology and sensor-controlled systems still sound too good to be true. They are used to building technology being wired, complex to figure out and expensive. Many municipalities are therefore still holding back. Enebakk Municipality is therefore further ahead than they may themselves realise, by choosing to test this in four of their buildings, says Hope.

Enebakk Municipality has taken the right steps

Hope believes the most important success criterion for succeeding with new technology for energy optimisation and building management is, quite simply, to be curious.

– And then you must be open to the fact that the new technology can actually work, says Hope.

He believes Enebakk Municipality has taken all the sensible steps in the process of approaching new technology. He explains that the municipality has both attended professional gatherings and spoken with existing users of the technology.

– They have received independent confirmations that the technology works, says Hope.

He explains that a typical three-stage approach to adopting new technology involves 1) Getting to know the building, 2) Taking control of the building, and 3) Making the building demand-controlled and self-managing.

– We always follow this recipe when we enter buildings we have never been in before. We place sensors to collect data from the building. Based on this, we gain control of the building and take any necessary measures. We then let the technology take over the building and manage it automatically, says Hope.

In a very large number of buildings they achieve immediate results, and within just a few hours you can have formed a clear picture of what is working and what is not.

– We often find a number of faults that are very easy to resolve, often at no cost, says Hope.

The sensors have now become so good that they can also be used to manage the building.

– This means that overnight, the building can become demand-controlled. Where there are few people, the ventilation system automatically adjusts down, resulting in reduced energy costs, says Hope.

A more affordable alternative

The technology is easy to use and compared to traditional solutions it is also cost-effective.

– Compared to many traditional, wired solutions, we are talking about significant savings. One of the great advantages is also that with a little simple guidance, you can do a great deal of the work yourself — something many of our customers do. That is one of the things that distinguishes new technology from more traditional solutions: it is so easy to use that even people without specialist technical knowledge can manage it, says Hope.

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