Innovation Centre for Sensor & Imaging Systems

www.censis.org.ukProject Profile

Low cost, self-learning wireless gas sensors for building, healthcare and oil & gas Partners:Gas Sensing Solutions Ltd (GSS)CENSISGlasgow Caledonian University

The ChallengeModern building regulations focus on thermal insulation, meaning that insulating a structure to prevent heat loss has the associated effect of preventing any fresh air getting in. As a result, people inside are sitting in rooms where the Carbon Dioxide (CO

2) Levels are increasing throughout the day.

Diminishing air quality is the root cause of the well-known office ‘afternoon slump’, which can present productivity challenges for employers. In many instances, retrofitting air conditioning is the most often used solution. However, this can be expensive and does not address the central problem of air quality. If a cheaper, more viable solution could be found to this problem it could cut costs, save businesses energy and sustain workers’ energy levels throughout the day. Energy Consumption in Commercial Building is major contributor of overall energy consumption worldwide and estimated at 40%.

The OpportunitiesTo tackle this challenge, Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), one of Scotland’s leading universities in the engineering and built environment sector, and Cumbernauld-based Gas Sensing Solutions (GSS) are working together to produce a gas sensing system which can monitor air quality, foresee increase or decrease in CO

2 levels in rooms in Buildings and take

appropriate action to improve it.

The system will monitor the external environment ensuring that occupants inside the building are receiving the highest quality of air, constantly regulating and changing the air temperature and CO

2 levels to suit. As well as this, if the temperature rapidly

rises outside, the sensor system will gradually cool the interior offering a more comfortable environment for workers.

Smart systems like these can improve comfort for occupants while also regulating waste management in buildings. The partnership will also aim to highlight the importance of keeping up with environmental standards, and will aim to fit the smart system in older buildings which may not have the correct air quality measures in place.

There are further opportunities in a range of different sectors. While building management is one, healthcare is another area where these sensor systems could be particularly useful. The system can be configured to monitor vital signals from patients which could possibly indicate an imminent stroke or heart attack and make decisions in response. That could range from

Requirements for cost effective sensors are constantly evolving across different markets, and our aim is to be as reactive as possible to these changes. Air quality is a ubiquitous challenge across the globe and this technology has huge potential. This system has a wide range of possible applications such as improving air quality in an office tackling the Office Sickness Syndrome (‘afternoon slump’) or monitoring patients’ conditions in a hospital.

Alan Henderson, Managing Director and co-founder, GSS.

PROJECT FUNDING:

£150,000 project value

INDUSTRY / APPLICATION

Construction, healthcare, oil and gas

alerting doctors elsewhere in the ward, to interacting with hospital IT networks to automatically arrange for the patient to be admitted to an intensive care unit.

The PartnershipThe project combines a range of skills from each of the partners, taking GSS’s carbon dioxide sensor and combining it with GCU’s intelligent sensor system controller which can monitor, learn from and adapt to its surroundings and change accordingly.

Both organisations are playing vital roles in the partnership, with GSS’s carbon dioxide sensor being fitted with a battery life of up to 10 years. The project also aims to increase efficiency by adding photovoltaic energy harvesting technology to the system, allowing it to work indefinitely without the need to replace batteries. This could open up a range of new opportunities and markets for GSS as a company. GSS recently won a national award for innovation from the Institute of Physics and the Shell Springboard award in 2012.

CENSIS InterventionAfter initially making the introduction between GCU and GSS, CENSIS supplied funding to make this project possible. The Innovation Centre will also play an important role in managing the project throughout the process, providing ongoing advice and mentorship as the project progresses.

GAS SENSING SOLUTIONS

LTD (GSS) CENSIS

GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY

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