Global technology major Honeywell has announced the launch of a cloud-based, closed-loop, machine learning solution that continuously studies a building’s energy consumption patterns and automatically adjusts to optimal energy saving settings without compromising occupant comfort levels.
The Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, the first autonomous building solution focused on decreasing energy consumption, can deliver double-digit energy savings, decrease a building’s carbon footprint, and can be implemented without significant upfront capital expenses or changes to a building’s current operational processes, said a statement from the company.
Energy consumption in commercial buildings is a significant issue: buildings account for more than 36% of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions.
Additionally, HVAC often presents the largest opportunity for energy savings in a commercial building.2
Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization autonomously and continually optimizes a building’s internal set points across hundreds of assets every 15 minutes to evaluate whether a building’s HVAC system is running at peak efficiency.
When it finds a need to make an adjustment, it analyzes factors such as time of day, weather, occupancy levels and dozens of other data points to determine the optimal settings per building and makes calculated decisions 96 times per 24-hour period for every building in a portfolio, 365 days-a-year across the system of assets.
Repeated results have shown double-digit reductions of HVAC related consumption while not impacting customer comfort.
“Buildings aren’t static steel and concrete – they’re dynamic ecosystems and their energy needs fluctuate based on ever-changing variables like weather and occupancy,” remarked David Trice, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Buildings.
“With Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, we’re evolving building operations far beyond what would be possible even with a robust team of engineers and the rules they code in their building management system. By employing the latest self-learning algorithms coupled with autonomous control, we can help building portfolio owners fine-tune their energy expenditures to drive efficiencies and create more sustainable practices for our customers,” he added.
During a pilot at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) in Dubai, Honeywell said the Forge Energy Optimization demonstrated an initial 10% in energy savings, along with a reduction in complaints related to overcooling.
HBMSU is the first accredited smart university in the UAE and is known for its technology and innovation programs.
Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization was applied to HBMSU’s existing building management system which uses competitor technology demonstrating the platform’s open architecture and hardware agnostic capabilities, said the company in its statement.
The additional energy savings are significant as HBMSU is regarded as a highly smart, energy efficient building with fully connected lighting, cooling, building management, power and efficiency control that is optimized based on real-time occupancy. The pilot also uncovered local control issues with the chiller plant and fresh air handling unit that were not adjusting to set points, it added.
Honeywell pointed out that following the pilot, HBMSU selected the group as its preferred technology provider for energy optimization.
The collaboration will leverage Honeywell Forge as the IoT platform to expand cutting-edge technology adoption such as advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and data analytics across the university’s campus.
The platform will provide greater visibility into its building portfolio performance, lifecycle predictability and extension, said the statement.
HBMSU will also benefit from early testing and rollout of new Honeywell IoT technologies, including enhancing the curriculum and learning experience of its students with the technology, furthering its goal of driving innovation in the region, it added.-TradeArabia News Service