Amber Hickman |
Microsoft has realised 10 to 20 per cent savings in total energy costs across its campuses as a result of using Smart Buildings solution from software provider ICONICS.
ICONICS’ solutions use the internet of things (IoT) as well as Microsoft Azure’s cloud services and Dynamics 365 to help organisations optimise facility maintenance operations remotely. This can help building and facilities management teams to meet increasing sustainability demands as well as cost pressures.
For instance, ICONICS’ IoTWorX solution can provide organisations with edge analytics, real-time visualisation, remote monitoring and alarm management. When a fault or alarm is detected, the Azure-based analytics respond based on priority and practicality. This enables a greater level of remote control over facilities and reduces energy and maintenance costs with more efficient workflows.
“Proactively managing facilities through connected buildings helps all buildings operate efficiently at the same time, particularly compared to retro-commissioning,” said Kyle Reissner, product management director for ICONICS. “Think about a large campus; if you were to serially work your way through all the building improvements, you would always have out-of-tune systems. Inefficiencies creep back into those buildings as soon as you move on to the next building. With ongoing commissioning, the buildings tell the facilities maintenance team what needs to be tuned, and when.”
ICONICS is a Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability launch partner and aims to help businesses publish emissions and other summarised facility data, so they can report their organisation’s environmental impact.
“Sustainability is a rapidly growing priority as companies seek to demonstrate their commitment to climate improvement to shareholders and customers,” said Reissner.