A City of Cardiff Council competition offering funding packages to small businesses to help make our historic buildings more energy efficient without harming their essential character is nearing the conclusion of phase 1 with six projects shortlisted for feasibility studies.
The City Council was the only local authority as well as one of the first to be awarded funding in a new multi-million pound Welsh Government innovation programme to promote the research and development industry through the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) also funded by the Technology Strategy Board.
Cabinet member for Transport, Planning & Sustainability, Cllr Ramesh Patel praised the high standard of entries to the competition. He said, ’I’m delighted this important scheme has attracted such a high standard of technological innovation to very complex challenges. Preserving the character of Cardiff’s many historical buildings is a top priority for the City Council and having reviewed the shortlist, it is clear we have businesses that operate at the cutting edge of technology and I look forward to hearing how they get on in the feasibility studies.’
The following solutions have been shortlisted to undertake feasibility studies.
Okotech Ltd.
heatboss® is an innovative wireless heating control solution for existing commercial buildings providing room level control via retrofit of the heating from anywhere in the world via a PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet. The proposed project will show the technical feasibility of taking the existing heatboss® technology and modifying it to it to improve the energy performance of traditional and historic buildings.
Q-Bot Limited
Q-Bot has developed a robotics platform that can cost effectively insulate homes, making them more affordable to heat, without the disruption of existing methods and techniques. Insulating the floor with Q-Bot gets rid of draughts, makes cold floors warmer and lags hot water pipes which would result in lower energy bills for a typical home.
Stride Treglown Limited
Permeable Insulation & Power (PIP) is a new technology that applies cutting edge low powered electrical heating to permeable sustainable lime based insulation slabs to insulate walls in existing buildings. This combination effectively turns the wall surface into a large radiator, and helps ensure that building occupants are both dry and warm.
Ivy Limited
This project has developed a low cost, non-invasive method of measuring real power in a building over a wireless link. As no wiring is involved the power for sensors and actuators has to be provided by batteries or energy harvesting. Energy harvesting is the use of energy that already exists in the ambient environment cutting down on the maintenance costs and environmental impacts of batteries.
Sturgis Carbon Profiling LLP
Welsh Heritage PassivHaus Windows (WHPW) aims to develop windows for historic building retrofit that are highly efficient yet compliant with heritage values. The project will investigate the technical and commercial feasibility of timber sash windows with thermal performance to the internationally established PassivHausstandard suitable for EnerPhit.
Vivus Lime Ltd
Vivus is a unique fast setting, simple to use air lime technology. Vivus is a series of low cost products for use in the retrofit field, which work in harmony with any building. Ensuring absolute and natural humidity regulation, significant and adequate levels of insulation, results in lower energy use whilst benefiting from a flexible and anti-pathogenic coating.
