FEATURE
TAKING THEHEAT OFF
Corpus Christi College in Oxford knew it was wasting energy but was not sure what approach should be taken to tackle the problem. The college turned to the EcoSync system to dramatically reduce energy expenditure throughout its residential accommodation. Here we find out how.
What was the problem? Corpus Christi College in Oxford was certain its residential accommodation was wasting substantial energy due to students coming and going, but administrators weren’t clear on exactly how the energy was being wasted and how to solve the problem. They spoke with EcoSync about the company’s cloud-based platform that facilitates room- by-room energy use monitoring in commercial buildings and enables heating to be automatically turned off in unoccupied rooms. EcoSync explained how its technology would reduce the college’s energy spend by up to 50% and its heating-related carbon emissions by 50%.
How frequently are rooms
unoccupied? It’s estimated that heated rooms are unoccupied up to 70% of the time, and 99% of commercial buildings in the UK are heating empty rooms. This has become a particular problem in the new era of hybrid working when there are more empty rooms wasting more energy.
How does EcoSync’s product work? EcoSync’s intelligent controllers can be easily retrofitted to existing radiators. The controllers are battery free, which means no maintenance is required. The controllers are connected to EcoSync’s cloud-based monitoring systems, which allow building managers to have total control over their heating systems to help schedule, monitor and adjust temperatures on a room-by-room basis. Each controller in every room takes a reading every three to five minutes that reveals the temperature and energy output of the radiator and the temperature of the air.
Can it detect if an occupant of a room
has left a window open, for example? Yes. Because EcoSync has intelligent controllers installed
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in many buildings, there are hundreds of millions of data points that power machine learning algorithms to detect patterns in the data that reflect when someone has opened a window. In an instance like that, the EcoSync system can detect that a lot of heat is leaving the room and will therefore let the building manager know that a window has been left open.
But do room occupants have any
control over the room temperature? Yes. The intelligent controller that’s been fitted on each radiator has a unique QR code, which, when scanned on your mobile phone, allows you to fine-tune the temperature to maximise comfort and keep your own personal carbon footprint down to an absolute minimum. Energy savings data is fed back to users/room occupants to engage and motivate them to change behaviours. In this way, individuals also become empowered to do more to combat climate change.
What was the incentive for Corpus
Christi to invest in EcoSync’s technology? All of us are having to deal with the problem of rising gas prices – not tackling the problem of wasted energy is going to cost organisations dearly in the long-term and increasingly so. Failing to act will mean energy bills will increase substantially.
How much disruption is caused when
installing the technology? Very little. The technology was installed at Corpus Christi in just a few hours in one morning. The intelligent controllers were fitted to the radiators and the gateway – which controls the system and is similar to the internet modem in your home – was set up in the basement. The radiators are connected to the gateway and the gateway
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