ChArGED · Project

Mobile App That Turns Building Occupants Into Active Energy Savers Through Games

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Imagine your office building wastes electricity every day because people leave lights on, crank up the AC, or forget to turn off monitors — but nobody knows exactly who wastes what. ChArGED put cheap wireless sensors throughout public buildings to figure out which devices and which people are using the most energy. Then it sends each person tips on their phone, wrapped in a game with points and competitions, so saving energy actually feels fun. They tested it with 150 real people in buildings across 3 countries.

By the numbers

150

real building occupants engaged in validation

countries where buildings were used for deployment and validation

occupants per validation building

consortium partners

countries represented in the consortium

70%

industry partner ratio in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Public buildings waste significant energy because there is no easy way to know which devices, areas, or individuals are responsible for the waste. Traditional sub-metering is expensive to install and does not engage the people actually using the energy. Without personal accountability and motivation, behaviour-driven savings remain untapped.

The solution

What was built

The project built a complete gamified mobile app connected to low-cost IoT sensors (NFC/iBeacons) and a cloud backend that disaggregates building energy use down to individual users. Four demonstrated deliverables show the progression from first prototype integration through to a final system validated with real occupants and incorporating their feedback.

Audience

Who needs this

Facility managers of large office buildings and public institutions with high energy billsEnergy service companies (ESCOs) looking for occupant engagement tools to sustain savingsSmart building IoT vendors seeking an energy gamification layer for their platformsMunicipal governments managing energy costs across public building portfoliosCorporate sustainability teams needing measurable employee engagement in energy reduction

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Commercial Real Estate & Facility Management

enterprise

Target: Property managers and facility operators of public and commercial buildings

If you are a facility manager dealing with high energy bills and no visibility into who wastes what inside your buildings — this project developed a sensor-plus-app system that breaks down energy use per device, per area, and per person. It was validated with 150 occupants across 3 countries, using low-cost IoT beacons to pinpoint waste without expensive metering infrastructure.

Energy Services & ESCOs

mid-size

Target: Energy service companies offering efficiency contracts to building owners

If you are an energy service company struggling to sustain behavioural savings beyond the first few months — this project built a gamified mobile platform that keeps occupants engaged through social competition and personalized recommendations. The system was demonstrated end-to-end from backend analytics to smartphone app, giving you a turnkey engagement layer to add to your existing efficiency programs.

Smart Building Technology

SME

Target: IoT platform vendors and building automation integrators

If you are a smart building integrator looking for a low-cost way to add occupant-level energy disaggregation — this project proved that NFC tags and iBeacons can deliver per-user energy breakdowns without rewiring. The integrated system connects sensors, gateways, and a backend analytics engine, tested in real buildings with 50 occupants each across 3 validation sites.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What does the system cost to deploy compared to traditional sub-metering?

The project specifically used low-cost IoT devices (NFC tags and iBeacons) instead of expensive sub-meters, which significantly reduces hardware costs. Exact pricing per unit is not published in the project data, but the design philosophy was cost-effectiveness as a core requirement.

Can this scale beyond a single building to a portfolio of properties?

The system was validated in 3 buildings across 3 different countries with 50 occupants each, demonstrating cross-site deployment capability. The cloud backend and mobile app architecture support multi-building rollout, though scaling to hundreds of sites would require further engineering.

Who owns the intellectual property and can I license this technology?

The consortium of 10 partners across 6 countries jointly developed the system. IP is shared among partners per their consortium agreement. Licensing inquiries should be directed to the coordinator, European Dynamics Belgium, or individual technology partners.

Does this actually change behaviour long-term, or do people lose interest?

The gamified design was built around human incentive factors with social interaction and competitions to maintain engagement. The final demonstration included end-user feedback, though long-term retention data beyond the project period is not available in the published results.

How does it integrate with existing Building Management Systems?

The architecture uses gateways that connect IoT sensors to a backend system, which then feeds the mobile app. Based on available project data, the system was designed as a standalone layer, but integration with existing BMS would depend on the specific protocols used by your current infrastructure.

Is this compliant with GDPR since it tracks individual energy use?

The system provides energy data at the individual user level, which means personal data processing is involved. The project ran during the GDPR transition period (2016-2019) in EU countries, so compliance considerations were part of the deployment in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Luxembourg.

What kind of energy savings can I realistically expect?

The project objective was to reduce wasted energy in public buildings and make consumption predictable enough to optimize micro-generated energy use. Specific percentage savings are not published in the available project data, so claims would need to be verified with the consortium's final results.

Consortium

Who built it

The ChArGED consortium is heavily industry-oriented with 7 out of 10 partners from the private sector (70% industry ratio), which is a strong signal for commercial viability. The partnership spans 6 countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg), led by European Dynamics Belgium — a well-known IT services company with public sector expertise. With 3 SMEs in the mix and only 1 university, this was clearly an execution-focused project rather than a purely academic exercise. The multi-country composition also means the solution was designed to work across different building codes, climates, and user cultures.

EUROPEAN DYNAMICS BELGIUMCoordinator · BE
MINISTERE DE LA CULTUREparticipant · LU
EUROPEAN DYNAMICS ADVANCED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS SAthirdparty · EL
WATTICS LIMITEDparticipant · IE
INSTITUT CATALA D'ENERGIAparticipant · ES
DIMOS ATHINAION EPICHEIRISI MICHANOGRAFISISparticipant · EL
BOSCH IO GMBHparticipant · DE
ATHENS UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS - RESEARCH CENTERparticipant · EL
PLEGMA LABS TECHNOLOGIKES LYSEIS ANONYMOS ETAIRIAparticipant · EL

How to reach the team

European Dynamics Belgium — a Brussels-based IT services firm active in EU digital projects. Contact through their corporate website or LinkedIn.

Order a report on this consortium See EUROPEAN DYNAMICS BELGIUM profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing or adapting ChArGED's gamified energy platform for your buildings? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the right consortium partner.

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