Four rules to improve energy efficiency with Intelligent Buildings

April 15, 2011 - PRLog -- The new wave of energy efficiency is based on waste reduction, instead of sacrifice and discomfort as it used to be years ago. Everything is automated now, with no need to turn down thermostats manually. A Building Management System is considered central to the concept of an ‘Intelligent Building’ and is a vital tool in any organisation’s drive to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Intelligent buildings are energy and resource efficient, non-polluting and non-wasteful, flexible, adaptable and easy to operate.

But, although Intelligent Buildings offer to cut off between 30% and 50% of the cost of energy for a typical commercial building, some ideas have already failed and others are on the verge of a tremendous build out...

The main differentiators between the failures and the successful Intelligent Buildings are enumerated here:

   * Non-Intrusion
The key to energy efficiency has nothing to do with making people suffer. If a system requires the inhabitants of the building to be uncomfortable, it will fail. An Intelligent Building would have a sensor system that recognizes hot and cold spots and adjusts the ventilation system accordingly will go further in reducing energy costs than any attempts to turn down thermostats.

   * Automation
Eliminate the human controller and the system will have a better chance of success. If someone is required to turn a switch on and off, the system will probably not work. Automation requires sophisticated control technology and cutting-edge software algorithms; both technologies are within grasp nowadays. For instance, a fault detection program for HVAC systems that entirely eliminates the need for anyone to adjust any settings after the installation has a huge chance of success.

   * Persistence
Studies have shown that the effect of an energy audit is usually degraded by as much as 75% after 12 months, when someone changes the settings or something breaks. The new systems all have methods to eliminate those changes that degrade energy efficiency performance and allow it to be much more persistent than in the past. And fault detection software identifies problems in the control technology that would otherwise go unnoticed. By increasing the length of energy efficiency benefits, the investment in new Intelligent Buildings systems become easier to make.

   * High ROI
Building owners and managers tend to be reluctant to invest in new technologies unless they are offered a very compelling return on investment and short payback period. Most Intelligent Building systems are in the 2 to 3 year range today. Reducing that to 18 months (and even 12 months) will go a long way in determining which technologies will succeed in the coming race.

Adhere to the four rules of Intelligent Buildings, and your technology will be able to compete in the coming multi-billion dollar marketplace. This excludes making people uncomfortable, forcing them to constantly adjust controls manually, letting your technology to wear off over time and charging inordinately high prices, which would prevent you from realising the benefits of Intelligent Buildings in the next few years.

Intelligent Buildings can provide an environment for their occupants, which exhibit enhanced comfort levels and are conducive to increased levels of interaction, collaboration and work productivity.

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Envido is the UK’s leading provider of energy, low-carbon and sustainability solutions for private and public sector organisations.

We help our clients reduce their carbon emissions - helping them to conserve energy, save money and boost business performance.

With offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Ipswich, we work with some of the largest private companies across all industries in the UK, as well as local authorities, NHS Trusts, educational institutions and other government entities.

Envido Ltd.
+44 20 7199 0090
www.envido.co.uk