BUILDING OPTIMIZATION: THE ENERGY SAVING ADVANTAGE
Many property owners and managers are shifting their focus to short-term cost control and business resilience in response to climate change impacts and the global energy crisis. Buildings account for 60% of carbon emissions in cities, making energy saving a priority not only for sustainability, but for financial benefit. It costs a lot more to keep an energy inefficient building operational, which builds as a burden on companies and the environment.
Formulating and implementing a comprehensive roadmap to get buildings to net zero is important now more than ever. The problem is, when devising these roadmaps, some building managers and owners are met with the obstacle of determining what energy saving method to trust or utilize.
With 1,200+ buildings using their systems, Ecopilot has been bringing the benefits of using a building’s thermodynamics and weather data to help building operators optimize on efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective HVAC operations with artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Weather conditions and a building’s thermal mass directly impact its energy usage. Ecopilot’s AI program constantly monitors these elements every two minutes along with predictive data (e.g., weather forecasts) to calculate the specific balance point temperature of a building.
That data is then shared with the building’s existing building management systems (BMS), to align with specified HVAC set points so that they react with the real-time balance point temperature. This results in reduced HVAC fluctuations and removes energy misuse, such as heating and cooling an environment when it’s not needed. The program also identifies other issues and failures in the building to support long term maintenance plans for additional efficiency.
“Essentially, Ecopilot uses all this real-time data to continuously re-commission the HVAC system every two minutes,” explains Jennie King, Commercial Director of Ecopilot. “The result is that these systems start running far more efficiently, use less energy, and reduce their carbon emissions – all while keeping people a lot more comfortable.”
SUCCESS IN THE INDUSTRY
After commercializing 15 years ago, Ecopilot has been bringing its AI tech to some of Canada’s leading real estate management companies and rebated in numerous provinces. Initial hesitation to bring AI into building operations is understandable, but nothing beats doubt like proof that it works.
Crombie REIT’s Cogswell Tower, a 50-year-old concrete office building in Halifax implemented Ecopilot to help in energy saving across its 14-storey, 200,000 sq. ft. asset. Doing so reduced energy costs by 26.5%, generating a return on their investment in under two years. Pat Poirier, their Manager of Engineering and Sustainability, reported they had reduced energy consumption by over one million kWh, exceeding their expectations for their entire campus of buildings. “For us, this project has been one of the easiest to implement, with the best ROI.”
Martek’s Atlantic Place is a 355,000 square feet office and retail space and one of the largest buildings in downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland. This year alone, the company reduced HVAC energy consumption by 16.6%, over 1,000,000 KWh, equating to over $107,000.00 in energy savings. “Reducing energy consumption and working toward a sustainable environment is an important mission for us, now, more than ever,” says Charlie Oliver, Martek’s CEO. These amazing savings has designated the building the winner of the Luminary Awards. The Luminary Awards recognizes companies, organizations, communities, and individuals across Newfoundland and Labrador who are taking brilliant steps to use energy wisely – and inspiring others to do the same. The Big Award acknowledges a participant that, through energy efficient upgrades, has seen the most significant increase in their energy savings.
Halifax’s Marriott Harbourfront hotel installed Ecopilot into their building for greater energy and operational efficiency. According to Jeff Ransome, Halifax Marriott Harbourfront’s General Manager, “we’re on track to exceed the estimated savings guaranteed by Ecopilot Canada and were pleasantly surprised that Ecopilot’s AI was also able to identify system issues we weren’t aware of, as well as recommendations for greater efficiencies, both that will result in additional energy savings.” In the second year of operation alone, the hotel has reduced gas by 24%, electricity by 14%, and earned over $220,000 in annual operation savings.
ENERGY SAVINGS – THE SOONER, THE BETTER
With the current economical and geopolitical state, it’s costing companies more to maintain inefficient practices as they fall behind the sustainability curve. Ecopilot provides a promising solution to optimize HVAC systems in real-time to deliver rewarding energy efficiency and cost savings. The time is now to transition to a sustainable future.