Why We Need to Accelerate Energy Connectivity Inside Buildings
A successful energy transition requires commercial and industrial buildings to be connected to the cloud. Doing so is getting easier and easier.
Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Today, we can see and talk to groups of people on the other side of the world instantaneously. How we communicate is one of the biggest changes we’ve gone through in the last 30 years. But it’s not just people who are increasingly interconnected – devices are also capable of sophisticated communication through the internet. These ‘smart’ devices that use IoT technology have many applications and are transforming entire industries. At GridDuck, we’re exploring how our IoT energy-saving platform for businesses can integrate with existing services in buildings to achieve maximum energy efficiency and accelerate the energy transition.
IoT technology offers one of the most promising solutions to reduce energy usage in buildings at low cost, but many commercial buildings aren’t even connected to the cloud. It’s estimated that up to 80% don’t have an intelligent building management system, or the communication protocol is closed. Ultimately, the lack of a BMS – or something similar – makes it much harder to optimise energy consumption and balance energy highs and lows. The upshot is that a lot of energy gets wasted and that’s contributing to unnecessary carbon emissions and higher bills. If this continues, a successful energy transition looks increasingly unlikely.
Energy savings: think integration not invention
A BMS is costly, but there are more affordable solutions that can achieve similar results, by integrating with existing systems within buildings. We need to make these solutions commonly available and the technology has existed for years. GridDuck, for example, can integrate software APIs, ModBus, BLE, ZigBee and other protocols into existing infrastructure. For non-engineers, that means we can connect to air con, refrigeration, lights and heating in offices, shops, factories and restaurants, to monitor energy 24/7. We can also integrate with rooftop solar, EV chargers and batteries to balance intermittent wind/solar generation. This allows our clients to be flexible with their power consumption and take advantage of demand-response schemes while saving money, being more efficient and sustainable.
A big advantage is that GridDuck can be retrofitted into any building without huge costs or lengthy disruption. In most cases, existing appliances or machines need to be made ‘smart’ and that’s a simple matter of connecting them to the cloud through ‘bridge’ devices. Many of our clients start really small – they’ll connect their electricity and gas meters to GridDuck’s dashboard so that they can see what they are using in near-real time instead of taking a reading once a month. Over time, it’s easy to add more integration, such as lights, HVAC and refrigeration. The more you add, the better your overall energy visibility and, of course, the more you will eventually save.
Save energy across sectors
Savings can apply across sectors. Imagine you are an operations manager working in a chain of popular quick service restaurants. One of your problems is that you don’t know why one of your restaurant’s gas bills is much higher than another’s. You already have a very small profit margin – in some cases, less than 1% – so every bit of energy wasted is coming straight out of your profit.
With intelligent energy monitoring, you’ll be able to see what is wasting the most energy, why and precisely on which days. For instance, smart sensors in kitchens can regulate equipment usage based on demand, reducing unnecessary energy consumption during non-peak hours. This approach not only lowers energy bills but also aligns with sustainability goals. You’ll also be able to incentivise your staff to change their behaviour.
In manufacturing facilities, production managers can leverage IoT technology to streamline energy-intensive processes. Smart sensors and connected devices can provide insights into equipment performance, enabling predictive maintenance and minimising downtime. This not only ensures smooth operations but also contributes to substantial cost savings in the long run.
One major plus is that you’ll also be able to automate certain functions and set rules. By having digital dashboards with different permission levels, local and HQ-based managers can see the data and make appropriate decisions. One of our clients – a refrigerator manufacturer – saved 58% on energy just by using our IoT platform for automation. Another example is being able to lower the heating when energy is very carbon intensive on certain winter days – and we can alert you to this a day in advance.
You can even compare multiple sites and see what might be causing spikes in energy consumption, or spot that costly energy anomaly. We’re currently testing how clients can easily identify unusual energy patterns through our AI-based algorithms. This will show you ‘hot spots’ that indicate when something might be off. Because it’s incredibly visual, it can be more effective than viewing large quantities of data. For restaurant managers or, indeed, someone working as a production manager in a factory, this can be really useful and save time.
GridDuck’s anomaly detections
Moreover, an IoT energy-management system will cost a lot less than a full building management system (we estimate by a factor of 100x or so) and has the advantage of being able to be managed remotely. Additionally, we believe energy savings of 20-30% are realistically achievable and in some cases this could be more, with a reduction of carbon emissions a natural consequence too.
Accelerating the energy transition
The energy transition is not just about delivering environmental benefits, it’s also about economic prosperity, including energy reliability and job creation. McKinsey estimates that while the transition could eliminate six million jobs by 2050, a further 11 million could be created. The major imperative, however, is our future. Just heating and cooling for industry and buildings accounts for 50% of all energy consumption and 45% of emissions. We cannot afford to keep heading down this path – and there are solutions available that will eventually pay for themselves.
Working together with partners such as energy consultants and other energy tech companies, GridDuck can deliver affordable energy system integration that can be retrofitted for a variety of buildings and across many sectors. We should see this as a vital way of helping fund and accelerate the energy transition instead of seeing it as a short-term business cost.
To learn more about how GridDuck can help your business can help your business save energy, book a 15 minute meeting on Calendly.