Speaking Monday at the signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement between NIGC and the School Renovation, Development and Equipment Organization, Ali-Asghar Rajabi said the goal is to renovate and install smart controls in 100,000 school boiler rooms. “We have already taken effective steps in this direction,” he said.

Rajabi said NIGC’s three key initiatives — replacing more than 4 million heaters, refurbishing 326,000 boiler rooms, and smartening 100,000 boiler rooms — began in 1401 and have already produced positive results.

He said the main advantage of smart boiler rooms is the ability to remotely monitor and control heating systems. School administrators can easily check the status of their systems, and if a boiler room is left running during holidays, the system will automatically notify the school principal via text message.

Targeting an 18% Reduction in Energy Use

Sajed Kashefi, NIGC’s deputy for consumer gas optimization, provided more details about the smart-boiler project and said most installations have taken place in provinces such as Isfahan, Razavi Khorasan, East Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan. “We are targeting an 18% reduction in energy consumption in some boiler rooms, and savings could reach 30% in certain areas,” he said.

Kashefi emphasized the need to develop standards for smart systems and create a comprehensive framework for managing them. He said the Kurdistan provincial gas company is playing a key role in drafting these standards, while NIGC works on a national management and monitoring plan.

He added that 45 NIGC specialists are receiving technical training through a partnership with Zanjan’s Academic Jihad to ensure proper installation and oversight of the systems.

Kashefi said the project is expanding rapidly due to its importance in reducing energy use and cutting costs in schools. “We expect to see a sharp increase in the number of smart boiler rooms in schools and other government buildings,” he said, noting that accelerating implementation is a key goal of the agreement.

The cooperation agreement between NIGC and the School Renovation, Development and Equipment Organization was signed Monday by Saeid Tavakoli, deputy oil minister for gas affairs, and Hamidreza Khanmohammadi, deputy education minister and head of the school renovation agency.