EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Conventional, wood-fired stoves quickly overheat the room and cool down immediately once the fire is out. While tiled stoves are a practical solution, they are very expensive and therefore not accessible to most. Kachelino developed a modular, fireproof-concrete solution that is over 70% cheaper than traditional solutions making cozy and convenient heating available to everyone.

Goal

We want to make cozy, convenient and affordable heating available to everyone as it has such a high impact on our comfort level and well-being. It is in our history as humans to gather around the fire. This should not remain a romantic story but become reality for all that want it. Heating is also a social and environmental challenge, which we will master by exploiting economies of scale and incorporating state of the art technology.

Methodology

We have conducted over 15 interviews with users of different existing products, followed by validation of our preliminary approach with the help of experts. We have created several iterations of a virtual prototype with ongoing feedback from both customers and experts. We have developed a totally new approach to meet well understood needs. By applying interdisciplinary thinking, we will turn an old-fashioned industry into a service-oriented one with significant economies of scale.

Results

Kachelino builds on its modular approach to create a simple, convenient and affordable solution that can also be tailored to one’s specific needs with far less manual labor on site. Each stove can therefore be assembled both individually and personally, drastically reducing installation costs and set-up time. This solution is over 70% cheaper than traditional solutions, produces around 85% fewer emissions and needs 30% less wood for heating than those that were installed +30 years ago. Furthermore, we have validated the financial feasibility by carrying out market analyses and specifying our go-to-market approach, which boils down to a 4-phase plan. After entering the market and scaling up the production, we will be well positioned to go for true mass production. We aim to become the market leader in an extremely fragmented industry to make everyone’s home cozy and convenient.

Cooperation Partner

• Kachelino (Start up)
   

Contact Person

• Philipp Kaltenböck
  philipp.kaltenboeck@s.wu.ac.at
  
  Thomas Scheuba
  thomas.scheuba@s.wu.ac.at

Student Team

• Philipp Kaltenböck
  Thomas Scheuba

Project Manager

• Assoz.Prof Dr. Peter Keinz

• Shtefi Mladenovska, M.Sc.