i2e2

The I2E2 Energy Research Centre is a government sponsored Technology Centre, established to facilitate research which will have a direct impact on industry. The I2E2 research focus is on energy efficiency improvements in factories, plant, equipment and buildings. The current research agenda focuses on compressed air systems characterisation, use and solution integration; appropriate work environments and HVAC systems. The innovations will enable the Irish manufacturing industry to improve competitiveness via breakthroughs in energy efficiency and cost reduction.

The aim of the IERG/i2e2 project is to investigate ways of reducing the cost of providing appropriate working environments for product, people and machines in Irish manufacturing plants (HVAC systems and clean rooms). Maintaining appropriate working conditions is costly. According to the SEAI Energy Agreements HVAS Special Working Group Report 2007, HVAC energy costs can be as high as 80% of a site’s total energy budget and, among the 14 companies which participated in the SEAI study, €15 million a year of savings were identified. Further dependency on cleanroom is increasing and the Carbon Trust has estimated that around 40% of commercial floor space could be air conditioned by 2020, compared to only 10% at the end of 1994.

As part of a this three year project from 2011 to 2014, the IERG team have developed a software tool encompassing an expert analytics system which detects and diagnoses faults in HVAC system. To date, over €150,000 of energy savings have been identified on 7 pilot sites across 26 AHU's by the beta stage AFDD tool.

Click here for a short video on the i2e2 project