Buildings are responsible for 36% of world final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO₂ emissions. Nowadays it is of the utmost importance that we develop more ways to build sustainably and efficiently. With the abundance of new technology emerging, there is huge potential to use digitalisation to promote sustainable buildings and construction.

This is precisely what the CEO of the startup Greenovation, Paolo Mottura, set out to do. “I’ve seen how many buildings were in real need of redevelopment as they consume and pollute far more than necessary. Furthermore, the owners of these buildings were completely unaware of the modern solutions available to reduce the energy bills for their properties,” explained the CEO. With almost 15 years of experience working in construction, as well as collaborating with many important players in the industry throughout Northern Italy, Mottura was perfectly equipped to try to satisfy this unresolved need.

"Being an innovator means simplifying business or life processes by using new technologies"

Paolo Mottura, CEO at of Greenovation

“Building efficiently” is the term used to describe the process of renovating and designing buildings to provide a significant reduction in the energy needed for heating, cooling and lighting – regardless of the energy and management equipment selected to optimise these factors in the building. Greennovation aims to solve building inefficiency through its user-friendly portal that allows individual users to deal with these issues quickly and effectively.

It is “the first platform to create a complete and customised redevelopment project using just a few very simple steps,” claims Mottura. What makes it so special is that it allows for any type of user who owns a house or flat to make use of the technology to optimise savings and ultimately increase the value of their property.

Greenovation in its essence

Paolo describes Greenovation as an accessible solution. “Our product can be used by any homeowner: you don’t have to be techy or an engineer to use Greenovation, you just need to connect to www.greenovation.it and spend a few minutes describing your building.” Once the user has completed the form they will automatically obtain a customised energy-economic redevelopment project for their property. This will include all the necessary information to allow them to understand the solutions needed in order to reduce energy and housing management costs. 

"To be innovators we must run at full speed, transcend borders and, aboveover all, be disruptive"

Paolo Mottura, CEO at of Greenovation

How does it work? The startup works closely with industry specialists to customise the experience and allow customers to download a project that is as personalised as possible. They have worked very closely with architects, engineers and other specialists to develop a large database of case studies, which make up the heart of the artificial intelligence algorithm developed by Greenovation. The program analyses the information to build energy models of buildings that are then used to create a match with the details provided by each customer.

The platform also uses the laws of thermodynamics as well as UNTS 11300 criteria to analyse waste and redevelopment opportunities. The technology takes into account the entire building envelope: walls, doors, windows, roof covering, both winter and summer air conditioning and domestic hot water production systems, as well as the use of renewable energy sources. It then presents the user with a solution from a building with the greatest number of similar characteristics. Greenovation is able to provide a metric calculation of the home, analysing items of expenditure (such as heating, domestic hot water, lighting, electrical appliances for domestic use, etc.), and then identify possible solutions and suggestions for obtaining greater energy savings.

Once all the metrics and recommendations have been established, users can opt to make the changes they see fit or even speak to one of the company professionals to analyse the feasibility of taking certain actions. The premise is that better informed users become more conscientious users, and this is one of the most important aspects of Greenovation: providing an awareness of the impact of our daily actions.

Building a greener future together

At Enel, we are proud to work alongside Greenovation. We first met at a startup event, and we believe that by working together we can develop a closer relationship with our end-users based on trust and transparency so that more and more individuals gain awareness about how to be sustainable on a daily basis. ¨Enel is the leading player in the Italian market, it’s a brand that has built genuine trust amongst its end users. Having our product associated with Enel will certainly be an asset in achieving customer loyalty,” specifies Mottura.

The CEO concluded that they are currently “working on other simulators, and we are launching a simulator for seismic analysis, while improving our system for independent houses.. Together, we can break new ground and generate greater value in the future of building efficiency.”