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Occupancy-based ventilation revolutionizes cabin AC – while achieving big energy savings
by: SAMI J. ANTEROINEN
Air conditioning on cruises requires a great deal of energy – especially in the more exotic climates. With this in mind, Koja Marine developed a ventilation technology that revolutionizes the efficiency of cabin air conditioning. The name of the innovation: OBV( Occupancy-Based Ventilation).
Occupancy-based ventilation supports sustainable marine industry by combining energy efficiency and passenger comfort. The solution uses data from cabin conditions – such as temperature, humidity, CO 2 levels, and occupancy – to optimize ventilation needs via automation. When the cabin is unoccupied, ventilation can even be completely shut off, without compromising indoor air quality.
Koja Marine Business Area Manager Jere Vähämäki explains that the OBV solution automatically adjusts ventilation based on actual occupancy – adapting in real time to whether the cabin is in use or not.
PATENTED EXCELLENCE
OBV is protected by an international patent( EP3591302B1), covering automatic control and energy-saving logic.
“ We received the patent in 2021,” adds Vähämäki. The technology has been developed and tested in Finland.
Vähämäki points out that the importance of energy efficiency comes as no surprise to anyone in the marine industry. As air conditioning accounts for about 24 % of a ship’ s total electricity consumption, it is an obvious target for savings.
“ We’ ve been working on this concept for ten years, but the more intense development phase kicked in around 2019,” Vähämäki explains.
An in-house OBV ® testing environment has been built at the Tampere-based Koja R & D Center. |
COLLABORATION KICKS OFF |
WITH CARNIVAL MARITIME |
Gabor |
Gulyas, |
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Energy |
As the Koja R & D became convinced of the viability of concept, the attention turned to finding a suitable pilot. In 2024, the right partner and the right project were found at Carnival Maritime GmbH – a member of Carnival Corporation and responsible for the maritime operations of some of its cruise lines. Aboard one of the cruise ships supported by Carnival Maritime, an area of 100 cabins was fitted with the OBV system. |
Manager at Carnival Maritime, explains that as the project was initiated, the data clearly showed that legacy systems were“ vastly over-ventilating” in unoccupied cabins. Carnival was eager to see if Koja’ s expertise could bring some relief into the situation.
The pilot project achieved up to 44 % energy savings in the cabin area air conditioning, exceeding even Koja’ s own expectations.
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26 seatec 2 / 2026