AMES, IOWA—Quality Attributes Software and Beck Technology recently announced a partnership that will help extend the reach of ongoing commissioning (monitoring energy costs of mechanical equipment for the lifecycle of a building) to include Macro BIM (building information modeling).
The integration of Quality Attributes iBPortal (Intelligent Building Portal) with Beck Technology DProfiler with RSMeans will allow building owners and managers to fully understand lifecycle energy costs as related to planned costs. Energy costs are compared to a baseline, set through DProfiler in the design and building phases of the project, allowing owners and managers to make adjustments and keep costs in line with expectations.
“Our customers want to gain a better understanding of energy costs during the building design phase and ensure that those costs are not exceeded once the building is in use,” says Craig Engelbrecht, principal and chief marketing officer of Quality Attributes Software. “Quality Attributes partnered with Beck Technology because the integration of iBPortal’s ongoing commissioning of building performance compared with DProfiler’s mechanical equipment baseline energy costs from the conceptual and design phase offers a way to more accurately calculate ROI for our customers.”
Robust Building Performance Reports
iBPortal acquires, trends, displays and reports live building performance data pertaining to energy usage and costs. DProfiler with RSMeans is a Macro BIM solution used in the planning and conceptual design phase to produce an accurate cost estimate of a proposed design as well as 3D models, drawings and proforma documents. With the addition of mechanical equipment to DProfiler’s element database, customers can determine a baseline energy cost incurred by this equipment to give the building owner an understanding of costs going forward. The iBPortal then provides ongoing monitoring to determine if the mechanical equipment is performing in accordance with the baseline or if adjustments are needed. Mechanical equipment includes air handling units, chillers, boilers, cooling units, hot water units, solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal units.
Benefits to building owners and managers include the ability to determine total return on investment in the building and compare it to original estimates. Having a baseline of realistic energy costs and usage allows building managers to charge tenants accordingly, so tenants don’t get stuck paying unreasonable energy costs because of malfunctioning or inappropriate equipment.
This solution also prepares building owners for possible government regulations on energy usage. Owners will have documented knowledge of how much energy a building is using at any given point. This is the first step in complying with regulations.
“Partnering with Quality Attributes Software allows us to extend the reach of Macro BIM to the lifecycle costs of a building,” says Stewart Carroll, COO of Beck Technology. “The more robust we can make DProfiler with RSMeans, the better the solution will be for helping our customers lower costs and realize a better return on investment.”
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