Energy management gets an upgrade with BuildingOS—software that looks to the past and present, both in real-time. A new partnership between energy management leaders Ecova and Lucid combines historical with current meter data to provide a holistic picture of building performance through a new, intuitive interface.
BuildingOS is a powerful platform that takes energy performance management to the next level. For Ecova, which monitors building performance data for more than 700 clients spread across North America, the partnership with Lucid “expands our capability within the real-time metering space, tying in real-time meter data with the extended history from utility bills,” says Farrell Martin, business solutions director for Ecova. Through this unified data collection approach, BuildingOS enables proactive benchmarking and setting targets for energy use in buildings room-by-room. Furthermore, its user-friendly, customizable interface is accessible for a wide variety of users so they can engage in the data collection and monitoring processes.
Historical utility data is a vehicle for understanding overall building performance—average energy used per month and insight such as peak heating and cooling days. Opportunities to find peak load times and spaces enable Ecova’s corporate clients, which range from hotel chain Concord Hospitality to retailers nationwide and amount to $20 billion in annual utility costs, to target energy performance problem areas and identify solutions to lower consumption. “There’s a lot of levers to pull all along the value chain of energy… we play within everything between the utility to the facility,” says Martin. Combining historical data with Lucid’s platform gives clients the advantage to site irregularities in building performance before they become larger, cost-consuming issues. The dual information sources fill gaps in available data and deliver a comprehensive portfolio for site-specific conditions as well as a full picture for clients with multiple locations.
A unique feature of the BuildingOS platform is its alert system. Users are able to set thresholds for cumulative or monthly utility use such as water or electricity from a single room to the entire building. Alerts are received via an E-mail notification at set benchmarks along the way, much like a cell phone carrier E-mailing each member of a family plan when monthly data allowance has been exceeded. If, for example, clients determine a particular open office space should not exceed a set amount of monthly electricity use, the BuildingOS platform can send messages to an unlimited number of users warning when electricity use reaches either that threshold or a percentage of it by a certain date. It allows immediate response when use outperforms expected demand and facilities ongoing energy conservation. Alerts can be added or altered to meet new goals, see new benchmarks, and pinpoint further opportunities for energy consumption reduction.
Perhaps the most innovative feature of the BuildingOS platform is seamless user engagement. Building performance measuring is a job typically assigned to facility management, but through BuildingOS any number of client users can become a part of the monitoring process, log meter readings, and actively participate in energy management progression. As easily as setting up a Facebook account, users can track real-time data for metrics like water, electricity, and gas meters and view historical utility data. Giving more people the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about energy use not only benefits clients but employees, empowering personal action even outside the work environment to reduce consumption and costs.
Managing energy management just got a whole lot easier.
For more information about BuildingOS or to request a demo, visit Ecova.
