Home / The University / Faculties / Faculty of Economics and Business Administration / News / MClimate equips a hall at FEBA, Sofia University, with smart devices for energy efficiency and CO2 levels monitoring

   

16.05.2022

 

The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA) at Sofia University has incorporated smart devices that monitor air quality and optimize the energy efficiency in a lecture hall, which is part of the university's strategy for decarbonisation and improving the conditions for students. The devices are donation by MClimate.

mclimate

MClimate creates a complex solution, which allows measuring and monitoring of several parameters relevant to the quality of the indoor environment, including CO2 level, relative humidity and temperature. The system also incorporates dynamic control of systems for heating, automatically adapting to changes in air temperature. At the same time, it provides comfort for students with individual control.

This is one of the first steps of FEBA towards decarbonization after the adoption of the University’s SDG Strategy and Climate Plan, in line with EU directives on climate change and energy performance.

The products, manufactured by MClimate, monitor air quality and heating consumption 24/7 in real-time and allow the central heating system to be optimized. The installation of the units is part of the Faculty’s efforts to achieve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

“Sofia University is committed to decarbonisation and reducing its carbon footprint, and FEBA has started many sustainable initiatives in the past years. At FEBA, we develop new MA programs, research, partnership with businesses and many public initiatives, which correspond to the SDGs and to the EU Green Deal. Also, together with innovative companies such as MClimate, we improve the work and study environment in our building”, said FEBA’s Dean Assoc. Prof. Atanas Georgiev.

The project team has installed smart devices that will measure CO2 levels, and smart radiator thermostats. Those thermostats provide the most accurate temperature reports to avoid unnecessary heating of empty rooms, which is the reason why they save up to 30% on heating bills. The CO2 sensors will help identify when ventilation would be needed, based on real-time data analysis. The devices are connected to an intelligent system with an easy-to-use user interface - an app within the university facility management system.

CO2 monitoring leads to savings because it allows an optimization of energy consumption.

You might be asking yourself, "How do CO2 levels and energy consumption relate?" The answer is that they are inversely related. CO2 monitoring allows you to see what’s the air quality in a space or room. If there is too much CO2 in the air, then that means there is not enough fresh air being circulated in the room. In order to improve the quality of the air, more fresh air needs to be circulated throughout the room. Circulating more fresh air into a space requires more energy which results in higher energy costs for owners of buildings. This upward trend can be avoided by using smart devices to detect how much CO2 there is currently in the room and regulating how much ventilation occurs based on this data. This will prevent over-ventilation from occurring and reduce wasted energy, saving money on bills and helping reduce carbon emissions.

MClimate is committed to supporting the university by helping them achieve energy savings. As part of Sofia University’s sustainability strategy, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration was looking for a way to cut its energy costs, reduce its carbon footprint and become more sustainable. By installing those devices MClimate is helping the Faculty to get one step closer to their sustainability and ESG compliance goals.