Cisco has begun a pilot project with Morgan Solar that uses solar energy to power collaboration and meeting spaces.
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The new concept merges Morgan Solar’s Energy Blinds technology, which captures the sun’s energy, with Cisco’s Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switch to assist in the energy’s distribution and Webex integrations that can sense when the room is not being used, thereby enabling maximum energy savings and minimising energy wastage.
The initiative began when Morgan Solar, a Toronto-based company integrating solar energy into urban developments, won Cisco’s Fast Future Innovation Awards in 2022 and gained funding via Cisco Canada’s Country Digital Acceleration Program.
Wayne Cuervo, Director of Cisco Canada’s Digital Impact Office, encouraged other companies to come up with innovative sustainability solutions: “To take meaningful steps towards a sustainable future, businesses need to think creatively about how to get there.
Collaborating with forward-thinking companies like Morgan Solar, we’re driving the development of smart solutions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from traditional energy generation technologies and giving businesses new pathways towards sustainability.”
The first pilot project is being set up at Cisco’s Toronto Innovation Centre, with plans to add two further customer sites.
Results so far have yielded the production of as much as 50 watts of renewable energy for each window fitted with Morgan Solar’s Energy Blinds, which is enough to fuel the pilot room’s energy equipment and device requirements.
Even when the room is not in use, the solar energy solution continues generating power that is then stored up for when it is needed in the future. Alternatively, it could be saved up for peak times to avoid spending money on electricity when prices from the energy grid are more expensive.
The solution has the potential to be scaled up to cover more windows and, therefore, generate even more energy without relying purely on rooftop solar panels to capture on-site solar power.
In addition to furthering sustainability ambitions, the new solar-powered solution is designed to increase business value through cost savings and greater productivity, according to the American communications corporation Cisco. It believes the project may also represent a cheaper means to obtaining the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in older buildings.
With Canada’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Cisco-Morgan initiative could help meet these national sustainability goals. When combined with similar technological innovations, Cisco believes it could be the practical solution that stakeholders are looking for.
John Paul Morgan, President and Chief Technology Officer at Morgan Solar, said, “We’re committed to creating solutions that make solar energy more accessible to organisations and are working with Cisco to make that happen.
Energy flow through windows is the main driver of a building’s energy use. Actively managing and capturing sunlight at the window paves the way for offices to become more self-powered and sustainable, while also being more comfortable spaces for people to work in.”
In 2021, Cisco set a target of reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions across its business network by 2040.
Last year, Cisco used over 1.3 million MWh of renewable energy, which equates to more than 91 percent of its total energy demand. Furthermore, all the energy used at Cisco facilities in Canada comes from renewable sources.
from UC Today https://ift.tt/sfPr5gQ
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