SmartEn-UP tackles energy efficiency in households and small enterprises by combining IoT sensor technology, smart-grid integration, and circular-economy principles. Across the Slovenia–Austria border region, the consortium unites research (UL, SAL), industry (ETI, Gorenje), and energy-awareness expertise (Energieforum Kärnten) to develop, validate in real-world pilots, and openly share a complete energy-management ecosystem. Its objectives are to:
- Develop an open-source energy-management software platform (based on Home Assistant) for monitoring, visualisation, and automated control.
- Design a low-cost IoT retrofitting module that adds real-time energy monitoring to existing household appliances.
- Build a smart EV charging-station prototype with grid-friendly load balancing.
- Validate all outputs through real-world pilot deployments and disseminate them via a publicly accessible digital platform.
- Strengthen regional energy and digital competences through cross-border workshops and advisory services.
Results
The project will deliver:
- One cross border pilot solution for smart energy management, integrating household appliances and EV charging infrastructure, jointly developed and deployed in real operating conditions.
- A modular open source software package for energy monitoring and automated control, published for free reuse and maintained beyond the project term.
- Hardware demonstrators: a retrofitting module for existing appliances (SAL, ETI), a newly integrated smart appliance (Gorenje), and a smart EV charging station with dynamic load management (ETI).
- A comparative analysis of energy regulations, tariff systems, and grid fee models in Slovenia and Austria, as the basis for the control strategies.
- A public digital platform plus cross border workshops and individual energy advisory for households, farms, and SMEs.
- Five organisations cooperating across the border on smart energy solutions, with cooperation continuing after project closure, and at least one solution taken up or scaled up by an external organisation.
Funding statement
SmartEn UP (project no. SIAT00388) is co financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Interreg VI A Slovenia–Austria 2021–2027 programme, Priority „A more resilient and sustainable region“, Specific Objective 1.2 — promoting the transition to a resource efficient circular economy. Total ERDF support: € 1,338,825.60. Total eligible project budget: € 1,673,532.00. Duration: 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2028.
