Page 19 - Logistics News - September October 2022

B UILD IN G EFFI CIEN CY

By Anoop Hariparsad, Offer and Channel Marketing
Manager: Digital Energy at Schneider Electric

Many commercial and industrial facilities were built in an era where technology
was an afterthought. This is partly because of the lack of truly feasible
technology options that could make the management of buildings simpler and,
importantly, more efficient.

ast-forward 40 years and the industry now Now that you have all the data, what is the next
features advanced solutions that, short of step? Analysis. Here, service providers take advantage of
Frunning a building on autopilot, offer efficient, best-in-class operation (OT) and IT solutions to unlock
optimised and sustainable solutions that catapult the building’s performance to maintain your facilities
facilities into a new era of sophistication. And, remotely and proactively.
rather than being a medieval castle, the good news
is that many buildings can be modernised to benefit With its key operation insights, you can reduce
from this new and exciting age of efficiency and energy use, unscheduled maintenance and extend the
optimisation. life of your assets to save time and money, which all
contribute to the efficiency of your building.
At Schneider Electric, our methodology when
approaching buildings, old or new, is to measure, analyse A building management system (BMS) realises a
and then put systems in place to control. In the case of digitally connected building that offers 24/7 support for:
an older building, it is important to measure how it is • Air conditioning, heating, ventilation, lighting.
using its energy. Is this done in an efficient manner and • Access control and control devices such as valves,
how can technology help? actuators, sensors and meters.
• Energy management and building operating systems.
Once an organisation understands where it is and
where it wants to go, it needs to identify the solutions to Moreover, an open BMS system integrates
achieve its goals, and a fundamental part of this journey multiple systems for centralised, real-time control and
is employing a digital strategy. management across one to many enterprise buildings
and can help you understand and monitor your facility’s
With digital innovation, the invisible suddenly energy usage.
becomes visible. Digital technologies such as metering
and monitoring, coupled with smart devices and analytic Today, there are sophisticated solutions such as
software, allow insight into how a building operates. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Building Advisor that
Moreover, it provides an understanding of the building’s optimises building operations by constantly monitoring
energy and operational efficiency, which, in turn, enables systems and identifying faults to proactively address a
a service provider to identify areas where power can be cloud-based suite of analytics and monitoring services that
saved and untapped areas utilised. provide key insights into how to improve efficiencies.

Making the most of your digital strategy Using AI algorithms and analytics further allows L O GI S T I CS NEWS

In a digitised building, all the vital cogs start running you to understand the building’s energy use and help
continuously to provide information on the data transition from a reactive operating model to a more
required to obtain operational insight. effective preventive mindset. •

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