1. COMPANY

Warmos Lämmitys Oy  (https://www.warmos.fi/ )

2. SEMINAR’s focus

Next generation of sustainable oil filled electric radiators

3. DESCRIPTION:

Warmos Lämmitys Oy/ Warmos Heating Ltd operates in Salo, Finland, and has been manufacturing oil filled radiators since 2009. The same radiators have been manufactured in Finland for over 40 years under a few other brands. Warmos products will continue to keep homes, offices and other spaces safely warm also in the future. The ownership and the name of Warmos Heating Ltd changed in the beginning of December 2020. Warmos is yet a small company, but the new aim is to scale the business. Warmos is investing in product development, marketing, sales, etc. We take pride in great customer experience and satisfaction – these are core values guiding the operations of our staff.

All Warmos products are known for their superb quality. They are safe, ecological and durable. Warmos radiator frames have a 10-year warranty and they are manufactured according to the EU Ecodesign 2105/1188 Directive. They can be remotely controlled by using a mobile phone, bluetooth and EcoControl application. The radiators come in various sizes and wattages, and they can also be customized in various colors and by using picture panels. Warmos products have been awarded The Key Flag Symbol demonstrating that they are manufactured in Finland, creating Finnish jobs.

Warmos operates in an innovative, socially responsible and transparent manner, respecting the principles of low carbon as well as highly valuing organisation’s expertise, well-being of employees and stakeholders, internal development and the environment. Warmos was awarded the Finnish Social Enterprise Symbol because it channels most of its profits to promoting social goals and advancing social good.

4. CHALLENGE:

A vision of  WARMOS is to start the path of the next generation of oil filled electric radiators addressing sustainability aspects, guided by the UN sustainability goals, in particular:

• SD7 Affordable and clean energy,
• SD11 Sustainable cities and communities and
• SD12 Responsible consumption and production

The brain of WARMOS oil filled electric radiators are its thermostats. Thermostats are constantly developing, and today smart thermostats offer an added value to customers in terms of personalized climate and, in some cases, lighting control and air quality.

The goal of this seminar is: how to transform the oil filled electric radiators with a sustainable agenda? In this challenge, participants are invited to visualize and explore how this transformation modifies the thermostat, the radiator and the production line.

Further questions that might help you to prepare for this session are:

• Thermostats
  • How can the next generation of thermostats utilized by WARMOS support them to address the sustainability goals?
  • What features should the thermostats addressing sustainability goals have?
• Radiators
  • Would the oil filled electric radiators should evolve as well? If yes, in which direction?
  • Which are the new materials that oil filled electric radiators could utilize to address the sustainability goals? Remember, we should take into account that different oils have different properties and each material has pros- and cons- , however we must assure WARMOS radiators are reliable in all weather conditions, in other words that they will not freeze in cold conditions, nor will they explode due to heat.

• Production line
  • If we make changes in our products, what aspects of the production should we address in terms of sustainability?
  • How can the company reduce its carbon footprint? While collaborating with whom?

This session invites participants from different areas of expertise (e.g. mechanical engineering, smart systems, material engineering, business model, sustainability, physics), with the goal that by combining our knowledge we can help to build the products and enterprises that will address sustainability goals.

5. DAY and TIME:

April 23rd. from 12 – 4 pm.*

6. SEMINAR  LOCATION:

Tentative: Agora building, room 110 A+B  (to be confirmed the location)

7. ENROLLMENT:

Please fill the following form to enroll in this session:  https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/89E596712A49E99B

Following the current situation of COVID-19, the Department of Computing authorizes to impart this session face-to-face by following the university health guidelines:
a) The maximum number of participants to be present in this session will be 10 persons. Therefore, we have a limited number of seats available. These places will be granted according to the registration form of this session on the first-come, first-served basis.
b) The session is held in a classroom where all the participants can keep a safe distance between them. For this reason, the next session is allocated in the first floor of Agora building room 110 A+B.
c) We encourage the use of face masks and washing your hands.
d) A record of the participants will be kept after the session, in case it is needed to inform of any possible exposure to covid-19.
e) If someone from the risk groups wants to participate in the seminar please contact Paula Pietilä (papiet [at] utu.fi)
If the COVID-19 situation changes, we will inform to the participants enrolled to this session of any changes.

Enrollment closes on Wednesday April 21st. at midnight.*

8. PRE-ASSIGNMENT

Pre-assignment consist of two parts:

PART A.  Expertise background

The participants of each seminar have different background, and all expertise is relevant to address this challenge, hence the first part of the pre-assignment requires:

1. Get familiar with the oil filled electric radiators, as a consumer and as an expert (from your academic discipline).
2. Get familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals  in particular those SDGs involved in this seminar session: SDG7, SDG11 and SDG12. You can also gain an understanding of the SDG from your academic discipline and from the European Union efforts.
3. Based on your expertise background, detect two relevant academic publications addressing how to improve the sustainability aspects of oil filled electric radiators. These publications can address the radiator, the thermostat, or the combination of both.
4. Write a brief summary of your findings on the previous three points, including the bibliographic references to the publications you read.

Part B. Benchmarking of Thermostats 

To bridge our academic knowledge with the industry, it is wise for us to know what is available in the market. Hence, do a brief benchmarking with at least five different commercial thermostats that can be used in radiators. The information in the benchmarking should include:

• Type of thermostat (analog or smart)
• Price
• Manufacture location
• Main characteristics
• Perceived sustainability features that the thermostat offers
• A web link of the thermostat

Submit the pre-assignment with the outcomes of part A and part B by April 21th to caisse [at] utu.fi *

(*) The information in this post is actualized on March 29th. The seminar session is postpone from April 9th to April 23rd. due to COVID incidence in Southwest Finland.