For the last couple of decades, Cluj-Napoca has been a pioneering city in Romania when it comes to sustainable growth. Since national legislation regarding energy is out of reach for Romanian local authorities, the city leverages the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030, which, among others, sets energy-related strategic objectives aiming to reduce CO2 emission by 40% by 2030. Not being able to impact the national energy production and consumption to include more renewable energy sources, the Cluj-Napoca pilot team decided to target energy efficiency. This proved to be an impactful focus, as many buildings in Romania are older and of a comparatively lower standard than buildings in other European countries, leading to inefficient energy consumption. The necessary renovations, for instance installing new windows and improving the insulation, are however costly.

The Retrofit kit was developed with close engagement of a local tech-startup, actively contributing to the hardware and software of the tool. The tool functions as a combinatory package of smart sockets, electric panels, motion sensors, lighting fixtures, and a smart metering system, adaptable to the technical standards of the building where it is installed. During REFLOW, the kit was tested in the dormitory of a high school in Cluj-Napoca. Here, 145LED lightening fixtures and 40 motion sensors were installed to replace the old lighting fixtures, increasing not only the quality of light but also energy efficiency by turning the lights out when none of the students are around. Further, one general panel and five smaller electrical panels were installed. These panels increased the stability of the electrical system and were a necessary update of the existing one from the 1970s. Moreover, the dormitory was equipped with 16 smart sockets, used to manage consumption for frequently used electronic devices such as office computers, servers, refrigerators, washers, or driers. These sockets are connected through a proprietary app that gives the administrator control over the electricity that is consumed via these sockets. Nine gateways were installed to gather data from the smart sockets and other data transfers between different parts of the Retrofit kit. Ultimately, the smart metering system, which consists of digital electricity meters, each with a wireless communicator, sends consumption data to a centralised system that processes the collected data and stores it. The preliminary result of the Retrofit kit is a 15% energy saving and cuts the costs of energy by 40.000 Euros. The alternative for achieving a similar effect would be a significantly more invasive refurbishment of the building, including changing windows, changing the outside thermo-insulation, changing the roof, replacing the heating systems, etc., costing approximately 500.000 to 750.000 Euros.

The installation of the Retrofit kit demonstrated the potential of immediate improvement of energy efficiency of municipal buildings and thereby provides a concrete course of action to local authorities, bypassing the need for costly renovations. In terms of data collection, Cluj-Napoca highlighted the importance of accurate and accessible energy data provided by energy suppliers to the municipality. Improving the process of collaboration as well as the adjustment of the operating systems of both parties to utilize energy data favours energy efficiency and a decrease in carbon emission of the city. 

REFLOW was an EU Horizon 2020 innovation action project running from 2019 to 2022, with the aim to increase circularity in European cities. Through REFLOW, the 28 project partners developed a range of solutions to make the material flows more circular within the six pilot cities of Amsterdam, Berlin, Milan, Cluj-Napoca, Paris, and Vejle. The cities' social, environmental, and economic impact was assessed, and a range of solutions enabling the circular transition were developed through active citizen involvement. The project combined the expertise of the project partners spanning municipalities, scientific and research institutions, technology providers, design and grassroot organisations, and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Photo by Lorena Tintea on Unsplash