ECC (Engineering Consulting Company) specialises in solving complex problems for businesses, with a focus on energy efficiency.
Context
Like many modern facilities, this nursing home relied on automated systems (programmable logic controllers) to manage its essential services, including heating, ventilation and domestic hot water production. Although these systems were in place, the facility's management team faced a common obstacle: a lack of real-time, easily accessible visibility into their performance. The equipment was often located in technical rooms that were rarely visited, meaning that potential inefficiencies or malfunctions could go unnoticed for long periods of time.
Challenges
Gain real-time visibility into critical building systems
The nursing home needed a solution that would:
- Provide a clear, real-time overview of the status and performance of their equipment.
- Be accessible remotely via a web browser, eliminating the need for constant on-site checks.
- Enable proactive monitoring to quickly identify and resolve issues, preventing energy waste and ensuring resident comfort.
Solution
Engineering Consulting Company implemented a powerful yet simple solution at the nursing home to connect their existing building systems and bring their data to life. By deploying Wattsense's robust connectivity, the facility was able to transform raw data into actionable insights, accessible from anywhere.
The on-site solution
The installation process was designed for efficiency and ease of use:
- Connection: the Wattsense Tower Control was seamlessly connected to the nursing home's existing BACnet network, linking directly to the controllers for heating, ventilation and domestic hot water.
- Data retrieval: the Wattsense box performed a BACnet scan to identify and retrieve data points from the connected controllers.
- Cloud integration: all collected data was then securely transmitted to the Wattsense Console in the Cloud.
- Dashboard creation: using the intuitive console, customised dashboards were created to visualise the key performance indicators for the nursing home's equipment.
It was during the process of creating these dashboards that Engineering Consulting Company immediately detected a critical anomaly: the outdoor temperature sensor was displaying over 50°C, when the actual outdoor temperature was only 35°C! This glaring discrepancy indicated that the sensor was likely poorly positioned, exposed to direct sunlight without adequate protection.
“Engineering Consulting Company has a strong track record with Wattsense, having successfully completed numerous projects over the years. For this project with a nursing home, the Wattsense solution enabled us to quickly retrieve data points from the controllers and produce the first dashboards less than 24 hours after the BACnet scan. The intuitive interface makes it easy to create customised dashboards according to the customer's needs. The resulting accurate monitoring of equipment is crucial for maintenance and energy optimisation. ”Lucas Zermann, Energy efficiency engineer
Results
Detection and prevention of significant energy waste: The ability to monitor the outdoor temperature sensor value in real time and also easily access the log via the Console made it possible to quickly identify the inconsistency between the measured value and the ‘actual’ outdoor temperature value. This seemingly minor error had a significant impact on the building's energy consumption and occupant comfort:
- Prevention of overcooling in summer: with a wrong high outdoor temperature reading, the building's cooling system was operating more than necessary, resulting in excessive energy consumption and potentially overcooling the interior spaces.
- Avoiding underheating in winter: in winter, an inaccurately high outdoor temperature reading would cause the heating system to underperform, resulting in cold indoor conditions. This often prompts occupants to increase setpoints or use auxiliary heaters, further increasing energy consumption.
By identifying and correcting this single issue, the nursing home was able to:
Achieve substantial energy savings. Correcting the sensor positioning ensures that the heating and cooling systems operate based on accurate data, optimising energy consumption.
Improve resident comfort: Maintaining appropriate and consistent indoor temperatures improves the living environment for residents.
Enabling proactive management: The Wattsense Console now provides the nursing home with a real-time overview of all connected systems, enabling rapid identification of other anomalies and proactive maintenance. The implementation of alarms based on certain thresholds being exceeded further reinforces proactive site management.
Conclusion
Wattsense and Engineering Consulting Company enabled the nursing home to transition from reactive maintenance to proactive building management, based on data useful for building operations, accessible remotely according to the customer's needs.
By providing real-time visibility and easy-to-understand dashboards, Engineering Consulting Company not only helped uncover a significant source of energy waste, but also laid the foundation for continuous optimisation of building performance and increased comfort for its residents. This is a clear example of how smart connectivity can transform operational efficiency.
