Commercial buildings, including hotels in the United States, waste up to $60 billion in energy every year. That is not a good record, especially since by 2050, every building in the world will need to achieve the target goal of net-zero energy use to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Given that most buildings that will exist in the next 30 years have already been built, the only way to get there is more technology and digitization of buildings and the built environment. So says Paul Ghezzi, CEO and Director of Kontrol Technologies, whose company’s aim is to make buildings smart. I spoke with Paul recently and he told me most buildings do not have systems driving savings. That is why his company launched in 2016—to enable building owners to drive energy savings and improve and control air quality—all within a reasonable and affordable time frame. “Customers are looking for a three-year payback or less,” Paul says, adding that “more technology has to equal energy savings.”
Most buildings have some form of building automation system but there are system inefficiencies. “Boilers and chillers are usually not optimized in real time,” Paul gave as an example. “How do we optimize that system? We can integrate with any legacy system. We pull that data into the cloud. We can install sensors and communicate with the utility.”
Monitoring Fresh Air Intake
With the pandemic a great concern, the temptation is to over-adjust air intake which can drive up energy costs. “More fresh air is better,” Paul says. “The challenge is that it is very expensive. Monitoring is the right solution. You can monitor fresh air intake and CO2. You can create a healthier building at less expense.”
In the guestroom it is all about balance, Paul explains. “If you provide a level of comfort, you don’t have to give full control to the guest. And, if the room is unoccupied, you can adjust temperature settings accordingly using sensors.”
Kontrol Technologies utilizes artificial intelligence (AI)—the ability to recognize patterns using technology—to help drive energy savings. He gave water heating as an example. “Perhaps you are heating your water two degrees too high,” he says. You can set an alert to let you know. It is all about using data over time.”
“With water you must properly meter and measure,” Paul adds. “How much is being used in real time? That information can be connected to the cloud.”
A ‘Unified Platform’
Paul frequently mentioned getting data into a unified platform in the cloud as key to reducing energy consumption and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions.
What all smart buildings have in common, according to Kontrol Technologies, is intelligence and integration. At Kontrol, utilizing the Internet of Things, data and AI is the perfect formula for savings and emissions reduction.
“The Internet Of Things (IoT) represents a new opportunity for buildings owners, asset managers, mission critical buildings and the industrial sector,” the company says. “Connected devices can be used to enhance productivity, improve real-time decision making, and help reduce overall operating costs.”
“Insights derived from the collection of data are hugely powerful, if they are intelligent and actionable,” the company adds. “Organizations and companies that are able to develop smart actionable insights from data will benefit from operating efficiencies and develop a competitive advantage.”
“Artificial intelligence makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs and perform human-like tasks,” Kontrol concludes. “Using these technologies, computers can be trained to accomplish specific tasks by processing large amounts of data and recognizing patterns in the data.”
