HOOC AG

Secure control of technical facilities in buildings

The remote control and monitoring of technical facilities installations in buildings is a hot topic. A cloud solution offered by HOOC AG (Visp) enables control systems and networks to be accessed remotely and securely via the Internet, promoting energy efficiency and preparing the ground for innovative business models based on smart networks.

The technical facilities in today’s buildings have complex control systems that guarantee the comfort of the occupants while encouraging them to conserve energy and optimise costs. Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and other technical facilities in buildings are now increasingly controlled and operated remotely, with growing demand for web-based solutions. This is where HOOC AG comes in – the company, based in Visp, has developed a cloud-based software solution for the secure remote operation and control of technical facilities in buildings and of industrial machinery. Just over two years since its foundation, the start-up has 70 clients using the cloud solution for 600 installations, typically to control the technical facilities in commercial properties such as shopping centres. A particular attraction of the HOOC solution is that in-depth IT skills are not needed to use it.

Intelligent networking of energy systems

“We consider the use of our system for controlling technical facilities or machinery to be an initial stage,” says Daniel Berchtold, co-founder and sales executive of HOOC AG. “We are currently developing higher-end services that will eventually be a building block for smart cities.” By this, he means that the energy system data collected in the cloud is intelligently interlinked. By way of example, an energy supplier who has secure remote access to a number of heat pumps using the HOOC solution will be in a position to bring them into operation whenever a surplus of solar electricity is produced. Alternatively, the same supplier could control the electrical installations so as to produce the “balancing energy” that is essential for the stabilisation of the energy supply network. “Our solution enables a number of installations to be networked intelligently, creating a framework for new business models,” says Berchtold. 

A facility management app

HOOC AG is a spin-off of an established HVAC company, where the basic principles of the HOOC technology were developed prior to its inception. The new company enjoyed strong support from its parent company, as well as assistance from The Ark, the foundation for innovation in Valais. The Ark funded a project carried out together with the HES-SO Valais to develop an application for access to HVAC installations via smartphone – a facility management app. The creation of the young company was a technical challenge, but it was a no less demanding task to launch the marketing campaign, finding the right potential clients and appealing to them in the right way. Berchtold says, “This was a real achievement for a team with a primarily technical background.” At the beginning of 2017, HOOC AG made its first foray abroad, establishing a joint marketing company in Berlin together with a German partner.