Building automation systems and so-called “smart” controllers are nothing new. Building owners have been implementing remote monitoring and control systems for HVAC and lighting for decades. But with the cost of IT components like wireless sensors dropping and technologies like smart meters and cloud-based building management solutions coming on the market, a new era of connectivity and data generation is upon us.
The question becomes: How can commercial building owners leverage real-time, building-related data to more efficiently operate and maintain buildings? Can data analytics, for example, warn facilities teams about problems with equipment before they reach the point of failure? Can it detect subtle changes in fan speed, air temperatures, and energy consumption to trigger continuous adjustments to optimize equipment performance?
Real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle set out to answer these questions when it partnered with Pacific Controls to develop IntelliCommand, a 24/7 real-time remote monitoring and control service for its commercial real estate owner clients.
The service—which was pilot tested last year by Procter & Gamble on 12 of its buildings around the world, totaling 3.2 million sf—utilizes Pacific Controls’ wireless sensors to collect and send building performance data from various building automation systems to a remote command center operated by JLL. There, facilities operations experts who are well versed in data analytics and information technology are able to spot and diagnose anomalies that indicate a building system is not running efficiently.
The command center tracks data around the clock, allowing facilities experts to make constant adjustments to fine-tune building performance and address equipment problems before they become serious.
“We can do everything from test equipment to fix building controls remotely,” says Leo O’Loughlin, JLL’s Senior Vice President of Energy and Sustainability, who presented on the topic at BD+C’s BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference in September. “For example, our command center has the ability to remotely test 500 VAV boxes in multiple buildings in multiple locations at 2 a.m. and then submit a work order for the 15 or 20 that need fixing.”
O’Loughlin calls JLL’s new service the future of commissioning—continuous, monitor-based commissioning versus the traditional approach of assess/diagnose/fix/let deteriorate. “It’s all about getting ahead of the maintenance curve,” he says.
The results from the P&G pilot test were impressive: energy costs were slashed by 10% across the 12 buildings in just 11 months, and the investment paid for itself in three months—all without implementing any major building system upgrades.
Managers were able to identify problems that manual inspections could not detect, according to O’Loughlin, including inaccurate thermostat default settings, a temperature anomaly indicating that a heater was operating when not needed, and room-to-room temperature differences that indicated malfunctioning dampers, triggering unnecessary air conditioning. The service saved 8% in energy costs at one pilot location simply by reducing HVAC activity on nights, weekends, and holidays.
“It makes smart buildings smarter,” says Larry Bridge, Global Facilities and Real Estate Governance Manager at P&G. Bridge is currently working with JLL to deploy IntelliCommand throughout its global real estate portfolio of 76 buildings. “Smart building technology is not just about energy cost savings,” he says. “We also get reliability improvements and more efficient work order production.”
Related Stories
| Aug 18, 2022
The Illinois Institute of Technology restores three Mies van der Rohe buildings
With Dirk Denison Architects and Gilbane Building Company, the Illinois Institute of Technology has recently completed a $70 million housing project that has restored three Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 17, 2022
California strip mall goes multifamily residential
Tiny Tim Plaza started out as a gas station and a dozen or so stores. Now it’s a thriving mixed-use community, minus the gas station.
| Aug 17, 2022
Focusing on building envelope design and commissioning
Building envelope design is constantly evolving as new products and assemblies are developed.
| Aug 17, 2022
New York to deploy 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in city-owned apartments
New York officials recently announced the state and the city will invest $70 million to roll out 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in city-owned apartments.
| Aug 17, 2022
IBM’s former office buildings in Boca Raton turn into a modern tech campus
Built in 1968, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), at 1.7 million square feet, is the largest office campus in Florida.
| Aug 16, 2022
DOE funds 18 projects developing tech to enable buildings to store carbon
The Department of Energy announced $39 million in awards for 18 projects that are developing technologies to transform buildings into net carbon storage structures.
| Aug 16, 2022
Multifamily holds strong – for now
All leading indicators show that the multifamily sector is shrugging off rising interest rates, inflationary pressures and other economic challenges, and will continue to be a torrid market for design and construction firms for at least the rest of 2022.
| Aug 16, 2022
Cedars-Sinai Urgent Care Clinic’s high design for urgent care
The new Cedars-Sinai Los Feliz Urgent Care Clinic in Los Angeles plays against type, offering a stylized design to what are typically mundane, utilitarian buildings.
| Aug 15, 2022
IF you build it, will they come? The problem of staff respite in healthcare facilities
Architects and designers have long argued for the value of respite spaces in healthcare facilities.
| Aug 15, 2022
Boston high-rise will be largest Passive House office building in the world
Winthrop Center, a new 691-foot tall, mixed-use tower in Boston was recently honored with the Passive House Trailblazer award.