It’s easy to understand the case for collecting and monitoring data from IoT and building systems to make buildings more efficient and conserve energy. But what tends to get lost in the conversation around sensors in commercial buildings is that IoT also benefits the people working there.
The ACEEE (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) with both the Alliance to Save Energy and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy recently released a report that shows impressive energy savings numbers. The report states that US efficiency investments have prevented a 60% increase in energy consumption and carbon emissions since 1980 while also being responsible for a 50% reduction in the US power sector since 2005.
However, the report goes on to say that existing technologies could close the gap between the US’s goals, and the Paris Agreement’s climate targets. The US is not currently on track to achieve these emissions reductions. By integrating IoT fully into HVAC systems, energy usage can be more accurately detected and can the US can meet its goals.
“Retrocommissioning always saves money, but there is so much data available via existing systems integrated into building operations that adding IoT can seem overwhelming when FM teams are already spread thin,” said Shannon Smith, CEO of PointGuard, a company that helps monitor and analyze building systems and sponsor of a recent Propmodo report, “How Technology Can Streamline the Retrocommissioning Process.”
