Regional Energy Agency North (REA North) has developed an innovative digital solution – VIREAS, a virtual energy assistant powered by advanced artificial intelligence technology. This tool provides citizens with personalized advice on energy renovation and the use of renewable energy sources (RES) when planning their projects, significantly simplifying decision-making related to improving energy efficiency in their homes.
The key advantage of VIREAS lies in its ability to analyze energy consumption and recommend concrete measures tailored to the user’s specific conditions. In addition to technical advice, the tool also offers up-to-date information on public calls issued by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (FZOEU) for co-financing energy-efficient projects and RES installations, such as solar power systems or heat pumps. In this way, VIREAS helps users identify the most favorable financing options, enabling them to make faster and more informed decisions.
Through a simple and intuitive interface available on the VIREAS platform, users can enter basic information about their property (surface area, heating method, insulation, windows) and receive a personalized assessment of their energy-saving potential and CO₂ emission reductions. VIREAS also provides recommendations on suitable technologies, expected payback periods, and technical aspects of specific measures.
As a digital support tool in the transition toward greener living, VIREAS is among the first of AI-powered assistants of its kind in Croatia in the field of energy, offering citizens the knowledge and tools needed to actively participate in the energy transition – in a simple, fast, and entirely free way.
The virtual energy assistant VIREAS was developed as part of a pilot activity by REA North, Pilot 2.2: New Generation of Support Info and Knowledge Points for Green and Just Transition, within the project Investing in Green and Just Transition for a New Sustainable Business as Usual Economy (BauNOW), co-funded by the Interreg Euro-MED Programme.
