Research and devel­op­ment at Oilon

In a rapidly-​changing world, product devel­op­ment is indis­pens­able. It allows com­pa­nies to ensure busi­ness prof­itabil­ity and future growth and improve com­pet­i­tive­ness within their selected markets. At Oilon, the purpose of R&D is to steer the company towards expanded know-​how, improved tech­no­log­i­cal capa­bil­ity and better prod­ucts – towards the best pos­si­ble sus­tain­able energy tech­nol­ogy.

The goal of our research and devel­op­ment efforts is to utilize inven­tions and inno­va­tions in devel­op­ing and man­ag­ing both exist­ing and new prod­ucts. We are con­stantly mapping out devel­op­ment needs from a mul­ti­tude of sources. Our efforts focus on cus­tomer needs, research, and new tech­nolo­gies as well as market needs and reg­u­la­tory require­ments. The key areas in our product devel­op­ment include energy effi­ciency, the envi­ron­ment, usabil­ity, product appear­ance as well as con­sid­er­a­tions for pro­duc­tion and main­te­nance. Our research and devel­op­ment activ­i­ties are handled by Oilon Tech­nol­ogy Oy, a firm within the Oilon group.

Oilon prod­ucts are devel­oped in close co-​operation with experts from dif­fer­ent stake­holder groups. A big part of our devel­op­ment process is computer-​assisted sim­u­la­tion and digital twin mod­el­ing, which allows us to opti­mize the prop­er­ties of our prod­ucts and systems before exten­sive pro­to­typ­ing and testing. We can fine-​tune product prop­er­ties for maximum per­for­mance and create the best pos­si­ble service solu­tions.

The bulk of our exper­i­men­tal work takes place in two research centers, both in Lahti, Finland, and in sep­a­rate test sta­tions located at our pro­duc­tion sites around the globe. These facil­i­ties are equipped with precise mea­sure­ment systems for ver­i­fy­ing the heating or cooling pro­vided by our prod­ucts as well as their other prop­er­ties (emis­sions, power con­sump­tion, and noise and vibra­tion levels).

Another impor­tant part of our R&D is the devel­op­ment of digital tools, IoT systems, automa­tion, and user-​friendly user inter­faces. For years now, Oilon has been heavily invested in IoT-​based solu­tions. Already, the major­ity of heat pumps deliv­ered by Oilon are IoT-​enabled. Our cus­tomers have the option to monitor and manage their devices over a remote con­nec­tion and gen­er­ate reports cov­er­ing device uti­liza­tion, energy output, and the cost savings gen­er­ated. Cor­re­spond­ing systems for burners are cur­rently under devel­op­ment. Addi­tion­ally, we are working on AI-​based solu­tions that would auto­mat­i­cally assess equip­ment per­for­mance, sup­port­ing both opti­miza­tion and pre­ven­tive main­te­nance.

Research centers

“We invest approximately 6% of our annual revenue in research and development.”