SOPHIE – smart shower
Project leader: Pavel Sevela / Fellow (UIBK Energy Efficient Buildings)
Project deputy: Rainer Pfluger / Host (UIBK Energy Efficient Buildings)
- Johannes Frenger (UIBK Energieeffizientes Bauen)
- Martin Kirchmair (UIBK Institute for Microbiology)
- Christoph Drexel / external expertise (Drexel reduziert GmbH)
- Stephan Breier / external expertise (element design)
Funding agency: Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
Funding program: Spin-off Fellowship
Total funding: 279.027,00 Euro
Project period: 01/12/2019 - 31/05/2021
Project website: Sophie - smart shower website
What is SOPHIE?
SOPHIE is the complete solution of a shower that combines comfort and energy efficiency. SOPHIE guarantees lower costs for hot water energy and is climate-friendly thanks to heat recovery.
Why SOPHIE?
Over the last decades, systematic research has made it possible to greatly reduce the heating energy demand for the new buildings or renovation of buildings. This is an important step in the reduction of energy consumption and emissions in the residential sector, especially with regard to the climate goals of Agenda 2030 and environmental protection as a whole.
The problem - although the heating requirements of buildings have decreased significantly, the amount of energy needed to provide hot water has remained almost unchanged. In short, today the energy demand for hot water in highly insulated buildings is usually higher than the heating demand.
This massive savings potential in the area of shower water has not yet really been exploited by any technology. Therefore SOPHIE!
"Energy efficiency is one of the keys to energy system transformation. In our search for energy-saving potential, we discovered an aspect that had previously been largely overlooked - the energy consumption of showers. SOPHIE aims to set new standards in sustainability and save up to 80% of the energy needed to heat shower water".
Pavel Sevela, civil engineer, scientist & developer of SOPHIE