Product or Innovation of the Year – Thermal Comfort
Awarded for products or innovations that make a significant contribution to the thermal comfort element of building performance, including in the areas of heating, ventilation, cooling and humidification.
Winner: Hysopt HVAC Design and Optimisation Software - Hysopt
Hysopt’s winning HVAC Design and Optimisation Software accomplishes the feat of optimising cooling and heating systems design to deliver energy savings.
The judges appreciated that the product is scalable, has wide application and can link to thermal modelling tools. It also aligns to the CIBSE Code of Practice for Heat Networks, and Hysopt submitted good evidence of performance for its product within case studies.
On average, Hysopt’s software unlocks a yearly energy saving of 30% to 40%, with an investment payback of between one and five years. Very often, minimal adjustments give savings of up to 15% to 20% without requiring capital expenditure.
The principal aim of the software is to introduce performance as a verifiable metric at the design stage. It produces a mathematical model in which all engineering calculations are automated and optimised, and its simulation capability predicts system performance in the design phase. All variables can be made visible at all locations in the installation through dynamic charts and graphs. The energy consumption of the heating and cooling generators can also be quantified alongside the auxiliary energy required for pumps and ventilators.
To date, it has been used to identify energy savings in more than 130 HVAC installations and, on average, found annual energy costs savings of 32%. At VUB Free University in Brussels, Hysopt software helped identify annual energy costs savings of more than £250,000, with a payback on investment of just two years.
The judges noted that this category attracted good international entries addressing local climate requirements. However, some entries – while good conceptually – needed more proven data, and many just demonstrated improvements in performance rather than innovation.
Shortlist
Air Induction Unit - Arup
Atamate Building Control System - Atamate
OPA2100 ECO ULTRA - Temperzone Australia Pty