Automating the Measurement & Verification of Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is a fast-growing priority for building owners in the Pacific Northwest, set against a backdrop of rising energy costs and an increasingly competitive rental market. One of the main barriers to more widespread investment and implementation of energy efficiency upgrades is the difficulty owners experience in tracking the return on investment (ROI) given the many variables associated with buildings. This case study discusses two low-cost methods available to building owners to improve the tracking of ROI from energy efficiency efforts. Read full article
Innovative Financing Model Makes It Easier to Say ‘Yes’ to Lighting Upgrades
Founded in 2013, Allumia describes itself as a financing company working to bring the model that has helped solar power explode across the country into the efficient lighting market. With a particular focus on mid-sized commercial buildings, Allumia is seeking to tap an often overlooked building sector. Allumia provided a financing model to the Gold Creek Tennis and Sports Club that enabled a long-overdue lighting upgrade, resulting in significant operational savings of more than $9,600 per year, improved lighting quality, a satisfied owner, and happy customers. Read full article
Capturing Building System Data for Better Facility Performance
Between January and May 2015, the SBC deployed and evaluated two new technologies designed to quickly and cost-effectively derive more meaningful value from Building Automation System (BAS) data. BuildPulse and Trendr (a Building Robotics product) both combine hardware, software, and cloud storage to connect to BAS and acquire relevant data points. More robust data acquisition, trending, and reporting functionalities can help building owners and operators better understand their facilities and proactively manage performance, with the ultimate goal of reducing energy costs and increasing occupant comfort. Read full article
Keeping Employees Productive through Thermal Comfort
Thermal comfort in the workplace can increase employee productivity. Thermal discomfort can also result in dissatisfied employees, an increase in maintenance time, and individual behaviors that compete with energy efficiency goals. Comfy is a “sofware-as-a-service” (SAAS) solution that is designed to provide building occupants an easy way to improve their thermal comfort immediately, improving employee comfort and satisfaction. The Vulcan headquarters building’s 7th floor served as a pilot to evaluate Comfy for potential wider use. Read full article
SBC’s Pilot Program Gives Insight into Product Direction
SBC helped an innovative technology provider evaluate the viability of a modified version of a proven product in a new market sector. As part of a technology demonstration pilot, ATD vendors supported the refinement, deployment, and evaluation of Confluenc’s updated energy assessment and planning tool in the commercial building sector. While the results indicated that the value proposition of the tool would not translate well across different markets, the experience offered Confluenc a unique opportunity to reorient their business strategy with minimal investment. Read full article
Student Housing: First Steps to Cut Energy Use
Green River Community College (GRCC) has taken the first steps to understand and cut energy use in its Campus Corner student housing complex, while maintaining the comfort of its students. With the help of the Smart Buildings Center (SBC) Advanced Technology Deployment (ATD) program, the college is actively learning how a mix of energy efficient heating and smart building technologies can create greater visibility and control over energy use for facility managers and the students. Read full article
Data Visualization and Alert Software Products Combine to Unlock New Value in Energy Data
Between January and May 2015, McKinstry, a construction, energy, and facility services firm based in Seattle, deployed and evaluated two business intelligence applications for Northshore School District with the goal of reducing energy use by providing enhanced energy data visualizations and creating automated fault alarms. The goal of the deployment was to unlock the value of building energy data (interval meter data) by quickly identifying trends and opportunities and automating the workflow required to capitalize on any identified energy savings opportunities. Read full article
Virtual Energy Assessment Technology
Virtual energy assessment technologies are software platforms that serve a wide range of functions, including helping building owners collect and use energy data to better understand their buildings’ performance and identify opportunities for improvement. These technologies represent a rapidly growing sector that is getting a lot of attention as a next chapter of energy efficiency. The following two documents offer a helpful overview of the space and the subsequent four documents provide case studies by building sector.
Case Studies by Building Sector
Also see the collection of ATD reports.
