The municipality of Sant Cugat, Fenosa Gas Natural and Indra participating in the project
Two buildings subsidised by the Town council are part of the 3-E Houses project,which seeks to improve domestic energy efficiency by means of information technologies and domotics systems
This pilot, promoted by the European Community, will also be implemented in subsidised buildings in Bristol (UK), Leipzig (Germany) and Sophia (Bulgaria)
Gas Natural Fenosa and Indra will undertake the design and implementation of a technological system to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption of the two buildings in Sant Cugat. Devices such as temperature thermostats, presence detectors, heating, ventilating and air conditioning control systems will be used.
Once all devices are installed, occupants will be able to check consumption through internet at any time. Consumption at off-peak hours will be promoted as it is cheaper and less contaminating.
Sant Cugat, Bristol (UK), Leipzig (Germany) and Sophia (Bulgaria) are the four European cities which will participate in the 3-E Houses project, promoted by the European Community with the objective of improving domestic energy efficiency. The project seeks to reduce up to a 20% of domestic energy consumption with the use of Information Technologies and domotics systems. This reduction in energy consumption also entails diminishing CO2 emissions and water consumption.
Deputy Mayor Mercè Conesa, the Director General of Gas Natural Soluciones, Josep Codorniu and Indra's Energy Technologies Director, Santiago Escribano presented this project today. It will be implemented in Sant Cugat and will conclude in December, 2011.
Specifically, two subsidised buildings of Sant Cugat will participate in the project, promoted by Promusa, the municipal development company. Both state-subsidised buildings are located on Avenida de la Clota St and consist of 118 flats for rent. The project will be based on the consumption rates of both the buildings and flats. So far, 59 homes have expressed their interest.
Gas Natural Fenosa and Indra will undertake the design and implementation of the technological system to improve domestic energy efficiency. First, the energy company will audit the energy consumption by both buildings. Then, it will install cutting-edge devices designed by Indra in each house to save energy. Temperature thermostats, presence detectors which turn on or off the lights or heating, ventilating and air conditioning control systems will be used.
Once all devices are installed, occupants will be able to check their consumption rate in internet. This way, Gas Natural Fenosa will know accurately the profile of each household. With this information, the company’s technical team will design a saving plan for the household. The objective is to place part of the consumption at off-peak hours since it’s cheaper and less contaminating. To promote this, occupants will obtain points which would be exchanged for presents or public transport tickets.
The execution period of the project will last until December, 2011. The installation of the technological devices and the internet access during this period will be free for participants. They will also receive a netbook to followup domestic consumption. Once the project concludes, occupants can keep the device as a present.
The European Community will compare the results of the four cities. With this pilot, it seeks to evaluate the implementation of the system in more buildings.
Para más información:
Oficina de Prensa del Ayuntamiento de Sant Cugat (93 565 70 00)
Subdirección de Relaciones con los Medios de Comunicación de Gas Natural Fenosa (934025688/ 934029131)
Gabinete de Comunicación de Indra (91 480 97 01)