Cambridge Consultants hopes to fill a global market vacuum and clean up big time with a new invention.
The design & development hothouse has developed a new ‘eco-vacuum’ concept called Stem that would use 43 per cent less energy than its competitors. and other products using the technology are in the pipeline.
Cambridge Consultants says the dramatic energy saving is achieved through its ‘Ecovation’ methodology – a process developed to integrate innovation and environmental considerations into each stage of the concept generation and design process.
It says the approach employed in Ecovation can be applied to any type of product to reduce its overall environmental impact. The eco-vacuum is the first example to be developed by Cambridge Consultants using the methodology.
With power consumption by far the biggest factor in a vacuum’s eco-impact rating, Stem would deliver a 27 per cent reduction on overall environmental impact over the vacuum’s entire lifecycle, compared to the industry standard.
In the case of the eco-vacuum, Cambridge Consultants made an initial human factors study of vacuum cleaner users and assessed the current market leading vacuums to determine the performance and use of current technology.
From this ethnographic analysis and the innovation process, radical new concepts were generated which when integrated, considerably reduce the energy usage of the cleaner.
The first concept enables the eco-vacuum to automatically vary its power usage depending on the job being done. Whether using the floor head or the hose attachment, with this concept the user gets the power they need when they need it.
The eco-vacuum also intelligently reduces the power usage when no cleaning is happening, for example when paused for moving furniture.
The layout for the internal parts for the vacuum was assessed and optimised for best airflow and maximum efficiency. Crucially, the environmental gains were achieved without impacting on consumer expectations of vacuum cleaners.
The eco-vacuum delivers the same cleaning performance as a conventional cleaner, is similar in size and weight to standard models, meets all regulatory requirements, and comes in at a price point comparable to premium models.
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