With tighter operating budgets, stricter government guidelines and increasing public awareness, energy savings and resource conservation have become top priorities in the public and private sectors. And with those priorities, sustainable building operations must adhere to both energy use concerns and occupant comfort.
Property managers know that saving on energy costs cannot come at the expense of comfort. Studies have linked comfort levels to error rates and productivity, absenteeism and even successful classroom learning. The key is to strike a predictable and measurable balance – and to maintain that balance consistently.
That’s where the WebCTRL® building automation system comes in, with features like setpoint optimization, trending information, thermographic color floor plans and demand reduction, it not only saves you energy, it helps lower costs — all while maintaining the optimal level of occupant comfort.
Automated Demand Response (OpenADR)
There are a number of ways buildings can reduce energy costs. Open Automated Demand Response (ADR) can help facilitate the reduction in peak energy usage and potential financial incentives related to that reduction.
Utility providers have to design and operate their plants around the highest possible energy demand. Often, financial incentives or reduced rates are offered to customers who can reduce their peak demand. OpenADR facilitates that relationship by automatically and securely communicating energy usage information from your facility to your utility provider to initiate these reduction efforts. OpenADR is an add-on for our WebCTRL software and Automated Logic is a proud member of the OpenADR AllianceTM.
White Paper: Automated Logic Corp.’s WebCTRL® Automated Demand Response Add-On
Balancing Energy Efficiency and Occupant Comfort
The WebCTRL Environmental Index™ tool (EI) gives property managers a simple method for determining both the energy efficiency and occupant comfort level within a building at a glance. This allows property managers to quickly identify operational problems and take corrective action to achieve sustainable performance.
The Effect of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) on Cognitive Performance
Tenants need to make sound analytical decisions, quickly and often in office environments. A recent study shows working in an environment with especially higher indoor air quality (measured by the Environmental Index tool) correlates strongly to an increase in cognitive function. Spaces that are better ventilated and controlled lead to dramatic increases in higher-level thinking areas like crisis response (131% increase), information usage (299% increase), and strategy (288% increase). These kinds of critical thinking skills prove especially important in office environments.
Automated Logic’s WebCTRL building automation system provides an intuitive, powerful interface, providing comprehensive control of ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and other facility systems while also helping to improve occupant comfort and energy efficiency.
Reliable Performance and Efficiency
Automated Logic can help to increase the performance and efficiency of the equipment and systems already installed within office buildings. Increased operating efficiency of existing equipment reduces the operating expenses of the facility and helps to minimize the financial burden created by increased utility costs.
By utilizing the extensive trend data and scatter plot functions, we are able to recognize conditions, anomalies and identify the HVAC equipment, controls, and lighting system to ensure increased efficiency and operational performance.
Automated Logic’s Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) can measure, anticipate, provide insight, and automatically respond to system conditions that are not necessarily critical, but may be trending that way – all with the goal of improved operational performance.
Metering
Energy savings is one of the most critically important aspects of building automation. Having an intelligent meter to gather information about your utility usage can help you appropriately manage your building’s energy consumption.
Taking it one step further, a building automation system that allows you to generate reports of your building’s energy usage makes it easy to analyze trends, pinpoint inefficiencies and make changes accordingly. The WebCTRL® EnergyReports™ tool not only meets all of these objectives, but does so in industry-leading fashion.
Energy Dashboarding
The WebCTRL® EnergyReports™ tool also provides an easy-to-read and navigate dashboard to quickly quantify energy consumption by one or all of the meters being monitored within the building portfolio. The Energy Reports tool provides easy validation of a building’s impact on energy consumption and helps building owners identify and prioritize the future efforts that are required.