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projet_entropy_hesso_valais
Tuesday 10 April 2018 13:46

Sierre - The institute of Information Systems HES-SO Valais-Wallis in Sierre has been participating for 2 years in the European research project "Entropy". The project aims to develop an application that issues recommendations on smartphones in order to save energy. The Techno-Pôle of Sierre is one of three pilot sites in Europe.

There are different ways to save energy. The simplest and most practical way is to increase technical energy efficiency by replacing inefficient devices with more efficient ones. A second solution, more difficult to implement but more economical, consists in voluntarily achieving energy savings through a change in behaviour by involving users in their environment. This second solution is the objective of the "Entropy" research project.

A mobile application to encourage users to adopt energy-efficient behaviour

The "Entropy" project will result in the development of a mobile application generating automatic recommendations based on information collected by sensors installed on your premises. "You are now 4 people in the room, it is 20 degrees, we invite you to turn off the heating", here is an example of a message that could appear on your phone.  The formulation of these suggestions will be adapted to each user profile in order to best reinforce his motivation.

Techno-Pôle de Sierre, precursor and pilot site

The Techno-Pôle of Sierre was equipped with light sensors, Co2 sensors, presence detectors and real-time measurement systems. About fifty of the site's 550 employees took part in this life-size experience. "The latter were invited to participate in a fun treasure hunt during which they were asked to answer questions related to energy, explains Prof. Dominique Genoud in charge of the project. An intelligent mobile application has also been deployed. The latter generates recommendations based on the information gathered from the sensors.

Interaction between humans and computers

The interaction with the site's collaborators took place in different ways. On the first participants, valuable information about the behaviour of the users in relation to their sensitivity to energy and to the potential global economy could be collected and show that a complex system involving automation sensors and people can work.

Final results end November

The research project will end at the end of November. Final results will be released at that time. According to experts, the stakes are high: 5 to 10% energy savings can be achieved thanks to consulting and management tools.

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