The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) Energy Show 2014 takes place at the RDS in Dublin on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 March. The annual two-day event, which sees more than 150 companies exhibiting, is the key energy showcase in the Irish calendar – a must for those who want to be up to speed on the latest energy-saving solutions. The Energy Show, now in its 14th year, will feature a trade exhibition presenting leading suppliers of sustainable energy products and services for businesses. The show will feature seminars where professionals can learn how to maximise energy savings for their organisation, whether in the commercial, industrial or public sectors. This year, the seminars will address managing energy in buildings, the systems and analytic tools that assist this and innovative energy solutions through heat recovery. The seminars include a session on How to Maximise Efficiency in Complex Facilities, which will look at both internal and outsourced solutions for financing building upgrade investments. A masterclass in Higher Performing Modern Buildings Using Smarter Engineering Systems and BIM, facilitated by Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and Dublin Institute of Technology, will look at leading-edge practices including the integration of renewables and modern lighting design. A session on Energy Analytics and the Tools Available to Support It will discuss the optimum solutions for gathering the right amount of energy data in buildings and integrating this with organisation processes. Another practical seminar will look at ‘Free Energy through Innovative Heat Recovery Practices’. Many industries are now seeking to improve their energy performance by tackling more technically challenging energy efficiency upgrades and one area generating a lot of interest at the moment is heat recovery. Whether looking at service or process upgrades, the evidence is that there are significant benefits from the application of heat recovery. These including cost savings, more sustainable business practices and improving competitiveness. Further detail on seminars is available at www.seai.ie/energyshow. WHAT'S NEW FOR 2014? The Energy Show has grown in recent years to include many features such as live retrofit demonstrations, networking opportunities with international markets and the Product of the Show Awards. This year’s show will see an extended best practice skills area to include heating, ventilation and heat recovery technologies, as well as insulation solutions. Visitors will also have access to even more international markets with scheduled networking sessions with France, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Canada, China, Israel and Argentina. New for 2014 at the Energy Show is a Smart Tech Demonstration Area, which will feature some of the smart products of the future which are still in the development stages. Visitors to the Show can meet with the brains behind these innovations who will explain how our future smart energy solutions will work. FREE WORKSHOPS The 2014 show will include a number of free side events and workshops looking at everything from Smart Grid, to the National Energy Services Framework and Better Energy Communities. A session on ‘SEAI supports for Energy Saving Projects’ will look at saving opportunities, contracting options, and the national energy efficiency fund. Smart Grid events include a workshop looking at international perspectives, hosted by the French Trade Commission Ubifrance Ireland and the Ireland France Chamber of Commerce; and the Smart Grid Innovation Hub, a collaborative initiative by EirGrid and the National Digital Research Centre which aims to promote the development of innovative Smart Grid solutions. A session on SEAI’s Better Energy Communities Programme on the Thursday (13 March) of the show will provide detail on the programme and the application process. With a budget of €13.5 million for the Better Energy Communities programme in 2014, it aims to support innovative delivery approaches at a community level. Last year saw the Government providing support to 47 community energy projects countrywide involving the upgrade of 740 homes along with another 291 community, public and private facilities. The free Energy Show exhibition will run on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 March from 10am-6pm. Seminar places must be pre-booked in advance with a limited number of spaces available. For further details on SEAI’s Energy Show 2014 and all events visit www.seai.ie/energyshow.