A Slovenian company and a Slovenian technology center developed a system of elements that enables better energy efficiency in existing heating installations, and are looking for investment agreement.

Summary

Profile Type

Technology offer

POD Reference

TOSI20250327018

Term of Validity

27 March 2025 - 27 March 2026

Company's Country

Slovenia

Type of partnership

Investment agreement

Targeted Countries

All countries

Contact the EEN partner nearest to you for more information.

Find my local partner

General information

Short Summary

A Slovenian company and a Slovenian technology center have an innovation that improves existing heating systems for buildings using a system of heating elements achieving better energy efficiency and thus lower consumption of fossil fuels and electrical energy.

The heating elements are connected to each other in a specific way. Optionally, solar collectors are added to the system. Patent application (PCT) has been filed.

The organizations are looking for investment agreements.

Full Description

The invention by the Slovenian company and the Slovenian technology center is a system that integrates multiple technologies and units, such as heat pumps, air conditioning units, and boilers, to improve the efficiency of space heating and domestic water heating. A key feature of this system is its ability to transfer heat between indoor and outdoor units and between different reservoirs, such as boilers and storage tanks, allowing for better temperature regulation and more efficient use of energy. This system provides continuous heating for living spaces, regardless of external temperatures, as the outdoor air conditioning unit takes on part of the load of heating the domestic water in the boiler, and if necessary, also helps heat the water in the storage tank for space heating.

This means that the heat pump or other heating device is not overloaded and has a longer lifespan. In the summer, this system also enables efficient cooling of spaces, where the heat pump is not overburdened, as the heating of domestic water is taken over by the outdoor air conditioning unit. Additionally, a customized solar collector is optionally added to the system. The solar collector has also been developed by the company and the technology center and it is made of vacuum-insulated glass elements, improving its efficiency.

End users of this technology are owners of apartments, houses, commercial and other buildings that need to be heated. Benefits for users are energy efficiency, sustainability (a lower carbon footprint) and cost savings.

The company and the technology center have already developed and tested some parts of the system, and these are already integrated into some buildings, but other parts (e.g. special solar collectors) still have to be developed, and the company and the technology center are looking for investors who would support this development.

The organisations are interested in Investment Agreement.

Advantages and Innovations

Households and businesses often have relatively modern heating systems installed, but these systems do not operate optimally, which means that unnecessary energy losses often occur.
Heat pumps and other systems, for example, mostly prioritize heating (domestic) water in the boiler, and only after the water in the boiler has reached the set temperature, they begin to heat water for space heating. When the heat pump is heating water in the boiler, it does not heat water for space heating, which often leads to a delay in heating the living spaces and lower room temperatures.
The problem is particularly acute in multi-residential buildings, where the demand for heating fluctuates more dynamically than in single-family homes, making it challenging for traditional systems to maintain optimal performance. The presented technology addresses this unmet need by improving the integration and efficiency of these systems, enabling better heat distribution and energy utilization without requiring the replacement of existing infrastructure. This reduces both operational costs for users and the environmental impact of heating and cooling systems, offering a more sustainable solution to energy consumption challenges.

Several existing variations of this technology have the disadvantage that the heating systems must be entirely newly installed, which can represent a significant cost for the user. There is also a question of ecological sense, as the still functional heating device needs to be discarded and replaced with a new one, which is supposed to have better energy efficiency.

In contrast, the presented technology represents a system of elements that can simply be added to existing heating elements. Existing heating devices, therefore, effectively extend their lifespan, and the user pays lower heating bills in the cold months and cooling bills in the summer.

The presented solution is a modular system that enhances the energy efficiency of existing heating systems.

Stage of Development

Available for demonstration

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal 13: Climate Action
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

IPR status

IPR applied but not yet granted

Partner Sought

Expected Role of a Partner

The partner is expected to invest 100.000 EUR that is needed for the development of a solar collector from the idea to the final product. The Slovenian company and a Slovenian technology center already has all the equipment to make a prototype.

The company and a Slovenian technology center would like to expand its market and sell its products in Slovenia, Italy and Croatia in the next two years.

The company and a Slovenian technology center plan to file an additional PCT patent application and then validate the patent in the most important countries where their future market is: EU, USA, China, Russia, Canada and others.

Type and Size of Partner