Featured Event Archives - Page 27 of 39

You’re Invited! Why Smart Buildings Virtual Executive Forum, June 11th

May 7, 2020 By SBC staff

Navigating the New World, How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Strengthened the Case for Smart Buildings Practices and Technologies

First off, we really hope you are safe, healthy and sane. We know this crisis is taking a financial and personal toll on each of us and we here at the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council and Smart Buildings Center extend our thoughts to all our members and stakeholders as we each individually cope with the trauma and loss around us. If there’s anything NEEC can do to help you or your business navigate the current situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. As part of our effort to support our members and stakeholders, we are hosting a virtual executive forum that will focus on utilizing smart buildings technologies to prepare for new expectations of buildings and their operations as we re-enter society.

We are sure many of us are beginning to craft the narrative of our own journey over the last several weeks in an attempt to make sense of the chaos and forge a path forward. After the initial shock of the pandemic wore off, we at the Smart Buildings Center, started thinking, discussing and speculating about the impacts of the pandemic on buildings and the smart buildings industry as a whole. In discussions, we talked about how the critical operations of buildings can go on remotely for those who have already installed remote management capabilities, and how these technologies can help businesses manage the risks associated with vacated buildings and unknown equipment failures and the impacts of such events. We heard from some of you about your concerns regarding energy efficiency programs and especially programs that still rely on deemed savings rather than meter based savings, as the dramatic and unforeseen shift in residential and commercial building occupation will profoundly impact energy savings realization rates. We talked about when it will be safe to again occupy buildings and how building owners and operators can leverage technology to help communicate their commitment to healthy workspaces in the post-COVID-19 universe. The discussion is prescient and worth sharing with you.

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted each of us and the world at large in ways that can’t be undone, but it has also strengthened the case for smart buildings technologies and practices to help mitigate unforeseen crisis, better manage building operations, and meet the needs of tenants, occupants and other stakeholders in the built environment. Buildings and building technologies will play a critical role in driving society toward a new normal as we emerge from our homes and return to public life inside of buildings.

As such, the Smart Buildings Center is excited to invite you to a Why Smart Buildings Virtual Executive Forum: Navigating the New World, How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Strengthened the Case for Smart Buildings Practices and Technologies. In this 60-minute webinar, we will hear from Cara Carmichael of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Art Smith of DB Engineering and Matt Golden of Recurve as they explore the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on commercial buildings.

REGISTER HERE

Virtual MythBusters Event: Dispelling the Biggest Myths About LLLCs

May 5, 2020 By SBC staff

May 21, 2020, 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Register

With individual sensors embedded in every LED fixture, luminaire level lighting controls (LLLC) represent the most intuitive, flexible lighting controls systems on the market. LLLC technology delivers significant business benefits, the highest lighting quality for occupants, and energy savings up to 75 percent.

There’s a lot of buzz about this technology, and myths about installation, operations and maintenance of LLLC too. Here’s a chance to get your questions answered directly from lighting experts and “MythBusters” Chris Meek and Chris Wolgamott. Join us on Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. PST for a virtual MythBusters-inspired event. Bring your pressing questions on lighting controls or submit them before the event and let these experts light the way.

Our expert LLLC MythBusters, Chris Wolgamott and Chris Meek, collectively have more than 40 years of experience in the lighting industry. Chris Meek, AIA, IES, is Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington and a registered architect. He is Director of the Integrated Design Lab (IDL) at the University’s College of Built Environments and the Center for Integrated Design (CID). Chris Wolgamott is a Certified Energy Manager and a Certified Demand-Side Management Professional who frequently presents on the future of lighting controls across the country, and serves on the Next Generation Lighting Systems’ Connected Lighting Advisory Group.

The LLLC MythBusters virtual event on Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. PST is free. To attend this webinar, you must register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Have questions you want to ask? Feel free to submit them ahead of time in the questions/comments box when you register. Or, send them to [email protected].

This event is brought to you by BetterBricks and the University of Washington’s Integrated Design Lab.

Cities Climate Action Webinar: Focus on Buildings

April 16, 2020 By SBC staff

Buildings have a big impact on climate, and cities can shrink that impact. Find out how at this online event!

Saturday, May 2, 9:30 – 11:00 am PDT. Additional Q&A: 11:00 – 11:30 am PDT
Register Here

The People for Climate Action Coalition is pushing ahead with educational programs to bring our city officials and the general public in King County up to speed on the actions cities can take to reduce climate change impacts. We are hopeful that promoting awareness of the actions cities can take to reduce climate change will also resonate as an opportunity to boost the economy and create jobs.

Did you know that in our nation, buildings:

are responsible for over 40% of our energy consumption
use over 75% of the power on the electrical grid, and
account for over a third of all greenhouse gas emissions?

Join us on Saturday, May 2nd to hear Vincent Martinez and Erin McDade, national leaders in this field, describe the work their organization, Architecture 2030, has done with a few U.S. cities to address the buildings emissions challenge through public policies. They will share some commonalities among cities that they have observed.

Before their presentations, we will be joined by Bellevue City Council Member Janice Zahn, who will frame the important role of our local cities. Then we will hear some specific details on how the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of buildings can be significantly reduced. We will also hear a report from the City of Bellingham’s Climate Action Task Force on policy actions their city is taking to reduce the impacts of buildings. Finally, from 11:00-11:30 am, we’ll wrap up with Q & A.

Register Now!

Smart Tech for Buildings Summit Recap

February 3, 2020 By SBC staff

ATS Automation sponsored a well-attended and informative Smart Tech for Buildings Summit on Thursday (1/30) in Seattle. Smart Buildings Center (SBC) staff attended all the sessions and were impressed by the quality of the speakers. The summit started with a primer on smart buildings and helped ground us all in both terminology and in the issues that are part of the here and now of smart buildings. Lucy Gedney of ATS promised that the sessions would focus on three of the pillars associated with the International Well Being Institute’s “well standard” – air, light, and comfort. The summit delivered on that promise.

One overarching theme throughout the summit was that occupant experience is becoming more and more at the forefront in the design and operation of buildings. But, tenant comfort, energy efficiency, and equipment life extension are not mutually exclusive; in fact, smart buildings technology makes it possible to achieve all of these benefits.

Melanie Danuser, Britton Rife, and Melissa Sokolowsky exhibiting at the Smart Tech for Buildings Summit

Jennifer Wagner of Onsite, LLC gave an impressive presentation documenting her research on the value of data driven solutions to infection prevention and control in hospitals. In other sessions, speakers presented data showing the improvements in occupant satisfaction, test scores, and worker productivity in commercial and education settings.

A very nice session on data analytics drove home the opportunity and challenge of collecting, storing, analyzing, and – most importantly – acting on the information derived from the analysis of building performance data. A representative from Amazon described their Alexa for Business products which reduce the annoying downtime associated with meeting room start up procedures – a ubiquitous frustration for us all. A representative from Roby explained how the Roby AI workplace concierge can help improve tenant satisfaction and operational efficiency by streamlining facility management requests through their app.

Throughout the summit speakers offered assurance that even with smart technology’s inherent ability to automate processes, there will always be a need for human interaction in the operation and maintenance of buildings. We appreciated the event for its content as SBC plans to build out a Smart Buildings curriculum and credential through the Building Operator Certification program. The session content framed the progress in the field of smart buildings and how it impacts the knowledge and skills facilities professionals need to succeed in an industry that is transforming as smarter technologies and practices are being deployed in buildings.

In the end, the summit offered attendees the opportunity to connect with others in the industry to share best practices and lessons learned from implementing smart technologies and practices. The event also served as an inspiration for the now-under-development agenda for SBC’s Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX 2020) conference scheduled for September 2nd-3rd at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. The SBC in tandem with a growing list of sponsors – which now includes McKinstry, Siemens, Seattle City Light, Puget Sound Energy, MacDonald-Miller, ATS Automation, and BOMA – is using this conference to expand on many of the themes heard at the ATS summit. Focusing on today’s issues of why, what, and how in the smart buildings space, this conference will be of interest to building owners and managers, facility professionals, engineers, architects, utilities, government, and energy efficiency professionals. Event registration is now open. We hope to see you there!

Smart Buildings Exchange Early-Bird Registration Open!

January 9, 2020 By SBC staff

A limited number of early-bird tickets for Smart Buildings Exchange, September 2-3, 2020, in Seattle are now available — register now and save $100!

About the event
Buildings are digitizing. Throughout the built environment, new technologies are connecting building systems and occupants in ways that generate confusion, opportunity, challenges and concerns over risks. From enabling buildings to perform for occupants and owners in previously unimaginable ways, to leveraging buildings to accelerate smart cities and electrification of transportation for a cleaner and healthier Earth, the opportunities are countless and exciting. Smart Buildings Exchange brings together the key audiences to challenge the hype, bear witness to the innovation, and explore the business case for accelerating the adoption and commercialization of smart buildings technologies and practices.

Exhibitor & Sponsorship Opportunities
Smart Buildings Exchange will host a boutique style exhibition highlighting industry leading vendors and sponsors that represent the Pacific Northwest vision for “smart” including the latest in smart building technologies and practices. Exhibitor & Sponsorship opportunities are limited — please download our Sponsorship Prospectus or contact [email protected] for more information about ways your organization or business can participate in the conference.

NEEC members get 15% off of registration! Be sure to reach out to [email protected] to receive your NEEC member discount code before registering.

Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) 2020
September 2 – 3, 2020
Bell Harbor Conference Center, Seattle
https://smartbuildingscenter.org/sbx

Big News from the Smart Buildings Center!

November 25, 2019 By SBC

We are very excited to share that we are launching an annual Smart Buildings conference in September 2020 in Seattle! The two-day conference and tradeshow will connect participants to the latest information and technologies in the smart buildings industry. We will showcase smart city and building projects and initiatives located in the PNW and will provide educational tracks to highlight the ‘why, what and how’ for smart buildings.

Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) 2020
September 2 – 3, 2020
Bell Harbor Conference Center

For more information about ways that your organization or business can participate in the conference, please download our Sponsorship Prospectus or contact [email protected] for customized sponsorship/partnership opportunities.

NEEC members get 15% off of registration! Be sure to reach out to [email protected] to receive your NEEC member discount code before registering.

https://smartbuildingscenter.org/sbx

Navigating the New World, How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Strengthened the Case for Smart Buildings Practices and Technologies

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