Solutions for sustainable building
At this year’s LOPEC the Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (CeNTI), headquartered in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, presented its contribution to the ILLIANCE project, a comprehensive approach to sustainable construction through technology.
ILLIANCE Agenda addresses the carbon neutrality associated with buildings sector, through the design, development and industrialisation of complementary technologies, based in three fundamental pillars: Health, Comfort and Sustainability. These innovative technologies are integrated into projects that embody the following vision: "Healthy, comfortable and sustainable buildings".
Proposed solutions in this agenda aim to improve the energy efficiency, comfort and sustainability of buildings, through some strategic objectives, such as:
- Preparing for the energy transition through electrification and hydrogen.
- Improving energy management in buildings, taking into account renewable dependencies.
- Contribute to increasing the comfort, health, well-being and safety of people living in buildings.
The functional structure of ILLIANCE, developed in an integrated specialisation approach, focuses on the design, development, and industrialisation of new technologies, in the field of electrification of the economy and exploitation of sustainable and/ or renewable electric energy; exploitation of new models and intelligent technological platforms for energy management; intelligent solutions for efficiency, functionalisation and performance of building.
CeNTI has contributing to four subprojects: iPower, i4Roofs, Sensing Home, and InteliPart. Printed electronics is one of the technologies employed in this project. The Sensing Home and InteliPart subprojects focus on developing sensors and flexible PCBs, respectively, which will be integrated into interfaces for water heating equipment. For iPower, the development of a smart window involves studying sensors for temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 detection. The data provided by these sensors will help determine when the window should be opened or closed. Pressure sensors are being developed for i4Roofs, designed to be integrated into a walkable floor membrane to identify areas with increased vulnerability based on the applied pressure. Additionally, textile-based moisture sensors are being developed within this subproject to detect water in cracks, alongside a heating circuit for the rapid curing of the membrane.
The organisation also has a central role in the development and prototyping of sensing and actuation systems, as well as user interaction, which will lead to intelligent models for energy-efficient and effective buildings, as well as highly autonomous ones.
About CeNTI
The Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials is a Centre for Technology and Innovation is a private, non-profit organisation with a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary orientation, equipped with cutting-edge technology. It develops, disseminates, and promotes, in a B2B approach, Research and Development (R&D) activities for industrial endogenisation, product engineering, and technology transfer of disruptive technologies, in the fields of Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials and Smart Systems, to companies.
Caption: Innovative and sustainable construction can play a major role in a green future (image: CeNTI).
Source: ILLIANCE/ CenTI
www.illiance.pt/en
www.centi.pt/en