In a world of increasing gas prices and sustainability concerns, private households are feeling more and more under pressure and are yearning for insights into their consumption and a way to reduce gas usage. For this reason, and to tackle the ubiquitous effects of climate change, the Umweltinstitut Munich has joined forces with Hochschule München to create a game-changing solution for monitoring household gas consumption.
Further team members: Moritz Stadler; Alexander Schreiner; Chi-Yuan Lee
Simplifying Gas Consumption Management
Today, the Bundesnetzagentur estimates that 85% of private households are unable to track their gas consumption during a year, leaving many surprised confused and ill-equipped to make informed decisions when receiving the annual gas bill from their gas provider. People are therefore seeking effective ways to better control their gas consumption and reduce their emissions as well as annual gas bill. The potential for savings in the private sector is immense, as Gunnar Luderer, leading researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, states that a “30 percent reduction in gas consumption is possible and important.”
Introducing the PowerMate App
That is where PowerMate comes into play. During the Co-Innovation Lab at Hochschule München, an interdisciplinary team of 8 computer science and business administration students has developed PowerMate. PowerMate, is a user-friendly app that provides customers with a compact device, seamlessly connected to their gas meter, along with an intuitive app interface to view real-time gas consumption data. The app not only offers valuable insights into gas usage habits. Users are able to identify spikes in gas consumption and, in case of above average gas consumption, are informed to change their heating behaviour, empowering them to reduce gas consumption. The aim is to simplify gas consumption management and empower users to adjust their heating behaviour to save energy.
“At PowerMate, we believe that managing your gas consumption should be simple and easy,” says Antonino Grasso, member of the development team of PowerMate. “With PowerMate, users will be able to make quick decisions about their energy consumption and instantly adjust their energy usage, which will lead to a reduction in consumption, as well as cost-savings.”
Using PowerMate is simple and straightforward. Customers can easily connect an old smartphone or sensor to their gas counter and download the app to start visualizing their gas usage. The app provides personalized insights and tips for saving money on gas bills.
Leonard Burtscher from the Umweltinstitut München, who acted as client and advisor during the project states: ” am very satisfied with the cooperation with the student team and see a lot of potential in the developed solution”.
About the Digital Innovation Lab and the Co-Innovation Lab
This solution was designed in a joint project between the Digital Transformation Lab and the Co-Innovation Lab of Hochschule München guided by the lecturers Prof. Dr. Holger Günzel, Prof. Dr. Lars Brehm, Prof. Dr. Johannes Ebke and Hans-Jürgen Haak. The Co-Innovation Lab offers students a virtual platform for learning how to work as a consulting team by creating temporary partnerships between companies, students, and lecturers.
For more information about the Co-Innovation Lab, contact holger.guenzel@hm.edu or lars.brehm@hm.edu.
This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DT.Lab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
“The Digital Transformation Lab (DT.Lab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the private sector, students develop future-oriented solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.”
More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DT.Lab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
- Website Co-Innovation Lab: https://www.co-inno-lab.org/
- Website DT.Lab: https://hm.edu/dt-lab/ & Challenge auf der DTLab-Website
Authors: Project team