One step closer to the world’s first air-powered shading system for buildings
Imagine an office that can ‘read’ the external lighting and temperature conditions and automatically regulate the same in the interior. And all this being done with the lowest energy consumption and carbon footprint possible. AIRSHADE, the world’s first air-powered shading system for buildings, is currently developing a product to make such work and living spaces attainable. The product has already had significant validation in the form of multiple international awards and a granted patent. However, after completion of its first funding phase (SME Instrument Phase 1, from February to July 2019), the research group had the opportunity to broaden their knowledge, conduct further research and prepare themselves for the appropriate next steps. This first phase included a feasibility study for the examination of AIRSHADE in terms of market research, technical validation and additional investigation into further details.
Smart approach leads to smart solutions
“We had several interesting insights that surfaced from executing our work packages. Perhaps the most valuable were the interviews and visits to various stakeholders: manufacturers, decision-makers in the buying process, but most importantly, also customers. This enabled us to identify new application areas, but also develop a strategy from current market trends – e.g. smart home systems that are complementary to our product,” says Nikola Znaor, project coordinator, founder and inventor of AIRSHADE. This useful information will help the AIRSHADE team channel their efforts and allocate resources towards key problems and areas of development that need more attention at this stage, contributing to optimisation of the processes and increasing their chances for success. The most challenging aspect of this project work for the AIRSHADE team has been the shift from an innovative mentality and a ground-breaking, sustainable approach to a business-minded way of thinking. As a result, team efforts succeeded in broadening use of the product. Its applications now include not only offices and residential buildings but also greenhouses, arrival halls, production facilities and more spaces. Moreover, the commercial orientation of AIRSHADE led to the utilisation of automation without the use of electricity and sensors, as a solution to the problem of providing users their desired direct control of the system.
Towards a more modern building sector
“The SME Instrument Phase 1 grant was extremely helpful in taking our product a step further and giving the development a boost. Now we have a clear vision and roadmap to follow,” reports Znaor. “With the results of our feasibility study, and the shortcomings known to us, we will improve on these subjects and most of all try to find a pilot project. This is crucial in our case, as we are operating in a very conservative sector – the building sector – that is not always easily adopting new solutions. In our case, seeing is believing.”
Keywords
AIRSHADE, building, shading system, lighting, carbon footprint, smart home
