N2B2: Neural Networks for Boiler Behaviour

Specific objectives and work plan

In non-residential buildings with manual scheduling systems or reactive rule-based systems, two possible scenarios can occur: (i) early start-up of the heating or cooling system, which means the system consumes more energy and the operational costs are higher; (ii) delayed start-up of the heating or cooling system, which means termal disconfort and users will complain and the maintenance staff will not be able to manage them correctly.


N2B2 allows turning on or off the heating and cooling systems each day at the optimal time, depending on the building's characteristics and its environment.

The main objective of the N2B2 project is to implement a predictive control algorithm based on neural networks and historical data, ensuring greater thermal comfort for occupants and the optimization of the energy efficiency of heating and cooling systems. Considering the mentioned aspects, the specific objectives are detailed below:

  • Definition of the business plan and the business model
  • Development of the minimum viable product, to define what are the main features of N2B2 to launch the service to the market
  • Identification of the market strategy

  • Analysis of the market transferability
  • Implementation of N2B2 in industrialized IoT controllers

This specific objective is focused on the assessment and validation of the technological solution in different types of non-residential buildings (i.e., health services, offices, etc.), minimizing operational errors and increasing the reliability of N2B2.

The project execution period has been established at 18 months, and the work plan developed to achieve the previous objectives is presented below.

  • Ensure the delivery of the project results and reports on time
  • Coordinate the technological and scientific orientation of the project
  • Guarantee the quality of the work
  • Risk management and contingency planning
  • Analysis of the aspects related to intelectual property
  • Characterization of non-residential buildings to be investigated
  • Selection of the potential use cases
  • Elaboration of the business plan and business model
  • Incorporation of the N2B2 algorithm in industrialized IoT controllers
  • Determination of the minimum viable product and market strategy
  • Assessment of the industrialized N2B2 in the built environment
  • Implementation of N2B2 algorithm in non-residential buildings with different usefulness
  • Dissemination and transfer of the results to all interested parties