Astre

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269281

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Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS : existing completed examples

Project title

Astre

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Description

How to make the invisible visible and attractive? The production of renewable energy in homes often goes unnoticed. Vilogia worked with the design firm BlueGriot to develop a beautiful and sensitive connected object that allows the inhabitants of a home to visualize their solar hot water production. Thus, tenants know that their building is environmentally friendly and when during the day they can use solar hot water or contact their landlord if the installation does not work.

Where was your project implemented in the EU?

When was your project implemented?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Which programme(s) or fund(s)? Provide the name of the programme(s)/fund(s), the strand/action line as relevant and the year.

Please provide a summary of your project

More and more buildings are equipped with renewable energy production, whether for the production of solar hot water or the production of photovoltaic electricity. Often, and more particularly for solar hot water production, this equipment is invisible to tenants. No one knows how much solar energy is produced and especially when. Tenants therefore cannot optimize their domestic energy consumption. The existing displays are complicated, very technical, and not user centric. The goal of the project is to work with a team of designers focusing on connected objects to make it possible to visualize the production of solar hot water in homes on a daily basis. Thus, tenants become aware of the environmental aspect of their housing. They can optimize their consumption by choosing times when the energy is carbon-free and all this in a beautiful and communicative way. The tenants become also the supervisors of the installations and can indicate to the social housing company if a piece of equipment is not working when their object no longer reacts normally: the installations can operate more regularly. The object was designed with the designers through several workshops. The object is connected by a wireless network to data from the monitored solar hot water installation.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met

The product designed makes it possible to visualize hour by hour the quantity of solar hot water available to tenants. Thus, tenants are aware of the amount of solar hot water available and can modify their behavior to use it. Tenants can also alert the social landlord when the object no longer works. The owner is alerted and can immediately repair the solar hot water production installation. Today in Europe, on average, barely 50% of solar installations in homes are functioning properly, no one realizes it since gas or electricity produces hot water if the solar panels stop working. Hot water is always available, and no one knows if it comes from the sun, gas or electricity. With this item, installations are instantly repaired. The daily user of the facility becoming his best guardian! The production of renewable energy can then be generalized without any problem. The production of renewable energy is optimized and the efficiency of the solar equipment is improved tremendously.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met

The goal of the project is to combine the beautiful with the useful. Vilogia worked with a designer firm, BlueGriot, specialized in connected objects to create a sensitive and beautiful object that allows the invisible to be visualized: the production of solar hot water available in a home hour by hour. Today, many systems exist to visualize energy consumption, more rarely the production of renewable energy. The object is fully independent from any number, formula or technical aspect and focuses on one of the 5 senses. The chosen direction is seen with a moving object which gradually discovers the amount of solar hot water available. The object is associated with a disk, solar form, with puzzling and soothing colors. The goal is to create a beautiful object that tenants place proudly in their living room or bathrooms. This object serves as a discussion with guests or family members. Far from being digital, this object refers to a more sensitive experience close to human beings.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion and how these have been met

The object was designed to discreetly communicate information to any type of person. Children, adolescents, adults and the elderly can receive information about the object. In fact, the amount of solar hot water available is discovered over time using two moving parts. People unfamiliar with numbers or unable to read can also benefit from information on the amount of solar hot water available. This object is intended to be inclusive, universal, speaking to everyone because the environment and renewable energies concern everyone.

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

The object was developed in the workshop and was tested with data received directly from the instrumentation of the common solar hot water production equipment located in the building's boiler room. The object allows you to visualize each hour the amount of solar hot water available in the building. The data is reset every day during the night. The mechanism is protected in a case so as not to be damaged.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project

The design of the object is based on universal and user-centered thinking. This artefact is beautiful. It is pleasing to the eye, it is a source of pride for the tenant. This pride is associated with the production of renewable energy. The object makes you proud for its beauty but also for its environmental commitment. The guests of the tenant, the members of his family will be able to question him about this intriguing object which does not reveal itself immediately and which evolves over the day. These questions will help focus discussions on renewable energy production and the environment. The production of renewable energy is no longer tinged with a technical or moralizing vision but rather with an aesthetic and poetic vision. This object allows citizens to better appropriate the production of renewable energy.

Please highlight the innovative character of the project

Today, there are many systems that allow you to visualize the energy consumption. Designers in several countries have already worked on this subject. At the opposite, the area of renewable energy production and the amount of renewable energy available has been little explored. The innovative dimension of the product comes from working with designers specializing in connected objects and in the desire to work on a sensitive approach. Today, there is no object to simply and significantly visualize the production of renewable energy in homes. Often the objects that have been developed are too complicated or only supported by a digital application. The innovation of the project lies in a different approach: simple and close to human.

Please explain how the project led to results or learnings which could be transferred to other interested parties

The object was designed to speak to as many people as possible. The sensors and information transfer technology is as open as possible. This object can be adapted to any collective or individual solar hot water production installation. It can therefore be diffused in all buildings producing renewable energy (individual or collective production) and in all households.

Is an evaluation report or any relevant independent evaluation source available?

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the Awards more than once under the same category and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.