Discover the achievements of the 2014-2020 NPA projects

Seven years of cooperation between people, communities, and organisations across thousands of kilometres made a difference in the Northern Periphery and Arctic regions.

Browse the NPA map of results to discover our stories of cooperation. Pick a dot from the map and scroll down to read  about people who have met similar minded colleagues and together found solutions for their shared challenges.

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Warmer classroom with fresh air

Improving air quality while saving on the heating

Affordable, reliable and efficient energy supply is a challenge for northern peripheral regions. Using sensors, IoT and the “whole-of-community" approach, the SMARCTIC project showed that reducing energy consumption requires considering the energy needs of the entire community buildings and public infrastructure.

Grímsey Island located 40 km off the Northern coast of Iceland, is home to a small village of courageous fishermen and their families. The island is well connected with the mainland by the ferry operating 3 times a week and a scheduled flight from Akureyri 2-3 time a week. On this island, the SMARCTIC project piloted air quality sensors designed to optimise the indoor air quality without energy loss. These sensors were installed in the Múli building in Grímsey, which houses a small athletic hall and a school room. When the sensor detected lower air quality, the devices allowed for fresh air to enter the room without opening the windows. Thus avoiding the need to reheat the room. The tests run in July 2022 and showed that over 200kWh of heating energy usage was avoided, corresponding to approximately 20 litres of oil.

Photo credit: Guðmundur H. Sigurðarson

 

Guðmundur H. Sigurðarson

Executive director, Vistorka

We are pleased to testify that the air-air exchangers are working well in the Múli municipal building in Iceland, providing healthier indoor air and saves energy, the latter which is unfortunately mostly from fossil fuel sources. Another NPA project, SMARTrenew, improved that situation to some extent and the two projects, SMARCTIC and SMARTrenew have both contributed to improved energy use on the island of Grímsey.