Convergence key to sustainable business

It seems like a lifetime ago but let’s wind the clock back to the start of this century when energy was inexpensive and green technologies were considered ‘new age’ luxuries. Sustainable solutions were limited to lighting sensors and the adoption of such technologies meant time, money and effort. Unsurprisingly, these hindrances usually outweighed the benefits.

A decade later, energy bills are steep and, as we’re constantly reminded, they will only continue to increase - leaving businesses warily awaiting their next electricity bill. In turn, attitudes to sustainability have also changed as climate change rises up the social agenda and simultaneously it becomes apparent that energy efficiency can also lead to cost savings.

mySmart CTI was founded in 2001 and in last 10 years the industry has significantly evolved. The commercial space has changed and there is a greater need for more functional board rooms with technical features. There is an increasing pressure from shareholders, employees and customers to operate more sustainably and energy efficiency has also crept up the political agenda resulting in stricter building regulations, in turn encouraging businesses to improve their sustainability or risk hefty penalties.

Combating climate change is front of mind for corporates, not-for-profits and government-run organisations and agencies - and while energy efficiency is increasingly becoming a part of the discussion, the potential impact of being smarter with energy use has not been truly realised.

At mySmart CTI, we deal every day with businesses working to make their buildings more energy efficient while simultaneously driving down ongoing operational costs. Although awareness has most certainly improved, there still exists an assumption that green technology only extends to light sensors and blinds. However, the introduction of open source protocols for intelligent buildings is going to alter the shape of the smart technology market here in Australia. The future lies in converged solutions - enabling us to deliver complete building and energy management systems and, in turn, from our experience, enable building owners to save a couple of hundred hours’ energy use each year.

In our everyday lives, we have become accustomed to our phones, computers, the internet and televisions, all communicating and working together and, as a result, the expectation is now set for this connectivity to transfer to commercial buildings. By bringing this convergence to commercial buildings, we’re able to make energy efficiency straightforward and obtainable for businesses through the use of building management solutions compatible with multiple vendors and additional installations. This kind of energy efficiency essentially ‘futureproofs’ a building, making it ready to accommodate extensions, upgrades or even complete changes in building usage requirement with ease.

Through the use of a converged system, new technologies such as submetering systems, sustainability indicators, automated blinds and presence detector monitors (to name a few) can now operate on a single cable platform enabling all systems to communicate effectively together. As a result, the need for international standards and protocols, such as the newly formed KNX group Australia, will become increasingly important to enable products and services to communicate with each other independent of any particular hardware platform, allowing for technologies to be tailored according to the needs of a particular implementation.

This independence from a protocol such as KNX gives interoperability and communication capability with blinds, meters, switches, air conditioning and so on, regardless of manufacturer. They can communicate with multiple applications, from multiple vendors, over one unified network. Having integrated all applications into one single installation, end users then have the ability to easily monitor and control the system in a way that is intuitive to use.

Another trend we expect to gain momentum is the adoption of Intelligent Building Management Systems (IBMS) - a single computing system controlling everything from one point. Although these systems are already available, they have predominantly been adopted by large buildings and we now expect to see IBMS being taken up by smaller buildings. The provision of managed services - the outsourcing of monitoring and managing the IBMS - is becoming increasingly common and allows the building owner to have peace of mind that the building’s controls are being continually refined to ensure it’s operating at peak performance.

Clearly, the last decade has seen a great change when it comes to energy-efficient buildings and the industry will continue to evolve as technology improves and globalisation increases. As energy prices continue to soar, cost savings will become the primary driver for energy efficiency in 2011. As a result, it will become even more important to keep up to date with new energy-efficient systems and technologies as businesses take steps to futureproof their buildings.

By Peter Garrett, Managing Director, mySmart CTI.