Development and implementation of various business models for innovative cooling technologies in existing buildings in Güssing

Development and implementation of various business models for innovative cooling technologies in existing buildings in Güssing

The Cool-Down Güssing project is a Smart City implementation project that is being carried out in the municipality of Güssing.

The municipality of Güssing is severely affected by overheating in summer. For this reason, climate protection-orientated and innovative cooling systems are to be retrofitted in selected demo buildings (public buildings, detached houses, businesses) in order to create added health value for users. The implementation is accompanied by an open innovation approach (design thinking), which is characterised by several iterative phases. This makes it possible to achieve a high level of user acceptance.

The open innovation approach is divided into a comprehensive stakeholder mapping (Step 1), which is carried out at the beginning of the project and requires the cooperation of all project partners. As part of the stakeholder mapping, clusters are formed and suitable participation methods are defined for each stakeholder cluster. The next step involves a comprehensive wave of participation, which is orientated towards the design thinking process (Step 2). At the beginning, the demo objects are familiarised with, which is accompanied by a survey. The aim is to use the questionnaires to ascertain the status quo from the user's perspective, but also to ascertain the technical status quo. By repeatedly involving the users during the design of the technical innovations, the highest possible level of acceptance is to be achieved. Suitable methods for involving users will be developed for each demo object. The final step is ongoing stakeholder involvement (Step 3), which extends over the entire duration of the project. Different methods are created for each demo object in order to proceed in a target group-orientated manner.