Electrolux contributes smart appliances for next generation sustainable housing in Stockholm

Sweden’s Stockholm Royal Seaport urban development area is set to become the site of a unique research project, with 150 new apartments as the testing bench.

Globally leading companies have joined forces to equip these homes with state-of-the-art energy technologies and connected appliances, enabling residents to monitor and control their energy usage in real time. Electrolux is one of the companies behind the project, which was launched April 29.

The object of this collaborative effort is to develop and demonstrate smarter ways of managing energy and help residents use energy more efficiently. The smart energy housing project in Stockholm is backed by a cross-industry consortium where the key contributors are Fortum, ABB, Ericsson, Electrolux and the Swedish Energy Agency. The homes are built by NCC, Erik Wallin and HEBA.

“Our appliances will make it easier for the residents to manage their energy consumption, get more information about the usage and make smarter choices for the environment. This could prove to be the next step in our development of environmentally friendly products, and we hope to learn a lot from the project about how consumers will choose to use the technology,” said Vanessa Butani, project leader at Electrolux and the company’s program manager for connected appliances.

Families who make their homes in the new Royal Seaport apartments will, thanks to the smart energy solutions, get a better overview of their energy usage. With the help of software, the future consumption can be predicted based on historical data and algorithms, which helps both utilities and the consumers. The consortium participants will gain insights about energy usage in buildings; knowledge, which will be transferred to and applied for further development of smarter cities, smart grid, housing and appliances.

“Just as urbanization is a global phenomenon, the need for sustainable cities is universal too. Our ambition for this initiative is to address and inspire energy-efficient urban living everywhere,” said Johan Ander project manager from energy supplier Fortum, which is leading the project. “This development started as a pilot with a single apartment. That produced valuable input to the full-scale project, where we will test and develop new technologies together with the residents based on knowledge and experience we gain.”

The technology used in the 150 apartments is designed to enable Demand Response energy solutions. The residents will not only see their energy consumption visualized on a screen, they are also alerted on environmental factors and energy pricing. Appliances such as washing machines and dryers can thus be programmed to run at optimal times to minimize climate impact and/or to save energy costs.

The technology and housing developed by the Stockholm Royal Seaport project has the potential to address worldwide markets where demand is rising for energy solutions with minimal climate impact.

For more information, see www.smartenergycity.se.