Objective
In the contest, a simple method shall be found for detecting and measuring internal leakage in zone valves such as short-stroke or paddle valves.
Background information
Short stroke valves or paddle valves are often used as regulating devices for room and zone control. These valves are closed if there is no demand for heating or cooling. Many of these valves leak in their closed position, even when new, as the result of: the valve construction, poor water quality, high differential pressure, etc. The leakages become more numerous over time and losses increase.
The result in this case is unwanted flows of hot or cold water that lead to the heat exchangers in the rooms; this means that energy is transferred unnecessarily. Even the smallest of leakages from these short stroke valves or paddle valves can lead to considerable transfers of heat and cold. These persistent leakage losses result in comfort problems as well as losses of money.
These kinds of zone valves are generally installed in large numbers in buildings. Several thousand units per building may be used. This totals to several millions zone valves per year.
There is an enormous potential for energy saving when tight-sealing valves are utilized or fitted as a replacement for other valves.
Sponsor
This contest is sponsored by BELIMO Automation AG.
Event organizer
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Agreement to these rules
In order to enter the contest, you must agree to the present rules. Any submission of an entry to the contest constitutes an implicit agreement to these rules.
Technical requirements
The submitted solution must fulfill the following technical requirements:
- Measurement principle. Any measurement principle may be used that fulfills the present requirements.
- Measurement setup. The setup must allow for measurements during operation in a heating or cooling HVAC zone application in buildings. The measurement setup should be non-invasive. Heating/cooling operation should not be interrupted during the installation of the measurement setup. Finally, the setup must be user-friendly, i.e. easy to mount, dismount, operate and configure, and portable.
- Accuracy: The method must be capable of measuring internal leakage of typically 1-100 ml/min (0.03-3.38 US FL OZ per minute), or the corresponding heat/cooling dissipation.
- Maturity level: The submitted solution must be elaborate enough to allow for further development into a prototype within reasonable time or based on commercials off-the-shelf (COTS).
Deliverables
The following material must be submitted:
- Technical documentation (max. 5 A4-pages, written in English or German)
- Detailed description of the solution, incl. drawings and calculations
- Mounting and operating instructions
- Optional: measurements obtained with the proposed solution
Only one entry may be submitted per participant. The submitted solution must be developed by the participant and novel.
Participation
To enter the contest, please fill out the participation form available on this website.
Prizes
The winning entry will be awarded prize money of CHF 10’000.00. Entries in second and third position will be awarded prize money of CHF 2’500.00 each.
Award criteria
The prizes will be awarded, after closure of the contest, to the entries that in the opinion of the jury best address the scoring criteria listed in the evaluation process.
Notification
The winners will be personally notified and their names will appear on the contest web page. No correspondence will be answered after the end of the contest.
Important dates
- August 1st, 2016: Opening of the contest
- November 30th, 2016: Submission deadline (closing date)
- January 15th, 2017: Winners are notified
- Quarter 1 2017: The award recipients are announced to the public and the winning entries are presented at an awards ceremony in Switzerland
Evaluation process
Each submission will be evaluated and scored based on the following criteria:
- Formal criteria: observance of deadlines, eligibility, completeness of deliverables
- Technical criteria:
(i) Compliance with technical requirements
(ii) User friendliness
(iii) Applicability to an operating heating or cooling system
(iv) Inventiveness of the proposed solution
After a pre-selection by a committee of experts consisting of research staff from Belimo and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the 10 most relevant entries, which need to be in compliance with all the terms set forth in these rules, will be considered by a panel of judges made up of representatives of Universities and Industry. The judges’ decision will be final.
The judging panel has the right to decide not to award any prize if no applications are received or if no applications meet the Award Criteria.
Q&A
Questions about the competition may be submitted to the organizers from August 1st to October 31st, 2016 (deadline extended). Please send your questions to innovation-contest@hslu.ch.
Eligibility
The contest is open to anyone aged 18 years or older at the time of the closing date. In case of legal entities, they must be in good standing as of the closing date. Employees of BELIMO Holding AG, BELIMO Automation AG, or any other entities of the Belimo Group («Belimo»), as well as employees of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and members of the immediate family of the above people are not eligible to participate.
Taxes
Prizes are net of any taxes the sponsor may be required to withhold by law. All taxes imposed on prizes are the sole responsibility of the potential winners. To receive a prize, potential winners must submit tax documentation requested by the sponsor or otherwise as required by applicable laws. The potential winner is responsible for ensuring that it complies with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements. If a potential winner fails to provide such documentation or comply with such laws, the prize may be forfeited and the sponsor may, in its sole discretion, select an alternate potential winner.
Personal data
Participants agree that data submitted with an entry, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by the sponsor and Belimo for the purposes of conducting and administering the contest. Requests for access, review, rectification or deletion of any personal data in connection with the contest shall be made in writing to BELIMO Automation AG in Hinwil.
All personal data shall be processed in accordance with the applicable data protection laws, in particular the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act.
Publicity
The winners’ names and pictures and videos of the award ceremony will be published on the internet and in other publications.
Proprietary and Confidential Information
All submitted information will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. It is the responsibility of the participants to avoid submission of proprietary and/or confidential information.
As a condition of entry, the participant grants to Belimo and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to make, use, sell, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, create a derivative work from, and publicly display the submitted materials or any derivatives thereof or based thereon, for any purpose, including further development, production of prototypes and serial production. Entries will not be returned.
Warranty and Indemnity
Participant warrants that his submission is his own original work and, as such, he is the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted material and that he has the right to submit the materials in the contest and grant all required licenses.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, participant shall indemnify and hold harmless sponsor, event organizer and Belimo at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from any act or omission of the participant in connection with this contest.
No offer for employment
Under no circumstances shall the submission of materials in the contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment or any similar agreement with Belimo.
Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
The contest including these rules shall be governed by Swiss law, excluding all conflict of law rules. The courts of the City of Lucerne, Switzerland, shall have exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim, or demand that may arise out of or in connection with the contest and these rules.
Lucerne, July 20th 2016
