Here’s How Acuity Brands Is Using Connected Technology to Make Buildings More Sustainable
Sustainability is a lofty goal for any organization. With the effects of manmade climate change making themselves felt all over the planet in the form of wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and more, the need to become more environmentally responsible is strong.
Brands all over the world are finding ways to reduce their impact on the environment, whether that be through reducing carbon emissions, generating less waste, or any number of other initiatives.
Field service has a role to play in the quest for sustainability as well. Not only in the way we operate as independent organizations, but also in the way we service and maintain the buildings we are responsible for. We are in a unique position where we can influence the operation of other companies outside of our own brands and find way to make them more sustainable.
Acuity Brands
We hear a lot about predictive maintenance these days, normally applied to using sensors to detect when machines are developing faults so we can carry out repairs or replacements before they result in costly shutdowns.
However, Atlanta, Georgia based Acuity Brands has discovered a method of using predictive analytics to help building managers make their premises more sustainable. Using automated processes, building management software, AI and machine learning, all brought together by a sophisticated Internet of Things (IoT) network Acuity Brands’ clients can reduce the chances of mistakes occurring and cut back on filling out time consuming manual assessments – freeing up time to focus on more productive areas such as energy consumption and other problems.
"Predictive analytics helps facilities managers anticipate and manage the lifecycle costs of equipment," writes Acuity Brands in a press release. "Data tracking weather pattern information can allow operators to adjust actions accordingly based off heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation which ensures buildings are running more efficiently and saving more energy. Utilizing predictive energy modelling in a post pandemic world is an essential part of facilities adapting to unknown factors and forecasting energy expenditure throughout their buildings."
Discovering how energy flows through a building has often been a costly and time intensive manual process which most busy building managers simply don’t have the time to attend to. However, by deploying predictive analytics to gather the data on their behalf, building managers can avoid this laborious business and focus instead on making the necessary changes to make their energy consumption more sustainable.
Relight
One of the ways building managers can make these savings is by updating their lighting systems to something like the Relight system developed and manufactured by Acuity Brands subsidiary, Lithonia Lighting.
Over the last two years, commercial electricity rates have risen by as much as 11%. One of the main drivers of inefficient electricity consumption in a commercial setting can be found in outdated lighting systems which can be responsible for a staggering 40% of the total electricity expenditure for these buildings. Not only do modern lighting systems save companies money, but they also have a far smaller effect on the environment – consuming significantly less energy and having a much longer life than their older inefficient counterparts.
A fantastic feature of the Relight LED lighting system is it can be installed in an existing fluorescent light fitting, without the need for costly and disruptive large-scale refurbishments. Not only is this less costly and disruptive for your business but will also prevent approximately 8.5 pounds of steel per fixture ending up at the scrapyard.
LED lighting such as the Relight system will reduce energy costs by as much as 70% and that’s before you consider the savings generated by a reduced need for maintenance and protects field service engineers, building managers, and staff by eliminating the toxic mercury spills which can occur with fluorescent lighting.
Final Thoughts
LED lighting systems are just one of the energy-saving measures which become available once you can get an accurate picture of a building’s consumption and performance. Thanks to the predictive analytics technology being touted by Acuity Brands, this information becomes easier to gather than ever, making life easier for building managers and field service engineers and creating a more sustainable world for everyone.
"Choosing a solution that is data-source agnostic provides facility operators with broad options for integration into their company data streams," said Acuity Brands Vice President of Product, Gavin Platt. "Another important consideration in choosing an energy management monitoring system is ensuring that the platform offers cloud integration. Streaming real-time building performance data can encourage teams to work together toward an organization’s sustainability goals.
Sustainability is sure to be part of the conversation at Field Service Palm Springs 2022, taking place in April at the JW Marriott Desert Springs.
Download the agenda for more information and insights.