CIBSE AWARDS | VIRTUPVT An 88m2 array in the Netherlands design iterations have been performed to minimise manufacturing costs and installation complexity, enhance visual appeal, and so on. The firm has engaged with suppliers, installers, early customers and other stakeholders to incorporate feedback into the process. The production model has been installed in a number of systems across Europe and in South Africa. A vertical installation was carried out at UK innovation and knowledge centre Specifics Active Office in Swansea designed to be the UKs first energy positive office (see panel The Active Office) while a system was installed at Deltares in the Netherlands to replenish ground heat as part of a ground source heat pump system; at a guest house in Hermanus, South Africa; and at the Medical Research Councils Harwell facility in Oxfordshire. Recent customers include the University of Westminster in London, while another high-profile building in central London is in the pipeline, Mellor says. Housing project in the UK Distribution With the system now in full commercial production, Naked Energy is looking to expand its distribution globally. Were developing distribution partnerships in the UK and abroad, with new partnerships in Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa and Switzerland, says Mellor. For innovative technology, one of the challenges involves buy-in from potential customers, he says. Its about how to convince your customer that your technology is so much of a step forward, they want to buy it rather than the tested and proved incumbent, solar PV, which has been widely used for a decade. But weve found getting customers to understand the value of renewable heat is getting easier. CIBSE Members will already understand the necessity of decarbonising heat when calculating the carbon intensity of a building portfolio. While Naked Energy is currently developing larger-scale installation projects for VirtuPVT, the company is also keen to broaden the application space for deploying the solution. Storage is one area were exploring. Weve just put a grant application into BEIS for an innovation project on the scale of a single home, looking at seasonal storage, using our PVT and a number of other innovations exploring what we call beyond net zero housing, says Mellor. For example, storing heat in the ground in the summer to use for winter demand. If we can unlock that, it increases our potential market penetration possibly by a factor of 10, because it means you can do much larger projects for any given customer. And it also opens up the market for customers that only have a winter heating demand, such as offices and other non-domestic applications. Theres a lot more opportunity there, while areas such as heatdriven cooling are extremely interesting too. Solar heats potential Its really valuable for us to receive this award from a highly respected organisation at the forefront of sustainability Winning a CIBSE Building Performance Award for VirtuPVT has been an important accolade for Naked Energy, says Mellor. It offers welcome recognition for the products innovative technology while raising its profile within the key building services engineering community. Its really valuable for us to receive this award from a highly respected organisation whose members are at the forefront of sustainability and driving the low carbon agenda in building services. Its recognition in the context of the people we are dealing with, the key decision-makers who are integrating systems into buildings. Mellor believes VirtuPVT has the potential to be a mass-market solution. How we solve the heat decarbonisation crisis will be a mix of technologies, but I see no reason why solar heat cant be the answer to a large percentage of that. And in the UK, I dont see why it cant be our product. Internationally, solar heat in general is going to be on the rise in the coming years, and were one of the most innovative companies out there with an available product. So, were all very much tuned into this being a mass-market product. CJ 34 July 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE July 21 pp32-34 Innovation award.indd 34 25/06/2021 18:29