New Technology designed to help building owners worldwide dramatically reduce their energy consumption and costs, improve tenant comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is launched, while a new CSIRO report says wide-scale adoption of low-emission distributed energy could reduce the cost of transitioning to a low-carbon future by as much a A$130 billion by 2050.

BuildingIQ has New Technology to Help Cut Buildings’ Energy Use

 Technology developed by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has the potential to help building owners worldwide dramatically reduce their energy consumption and costs, improve tenant comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The BuildingIQ Energy Management System, now being commercialised worldwide under exclusive license by BuildingIQ Pty Ltd, uses sophisticated mathematical algorithms and other advances to actively and continuously optimise a building’s energy management control systems to achieve substantial reductions in energy usage.

As a result, BuildingIQ software promises to help cut a building’s operating expenses and improve its official National Australian Built Environment Rating System (“NABERS”) star rating. Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced last week that starting next year all buildings over 2000m2 must publicly disclose their energy efficiency whenever they are sold or leased.

The technology is the result of over 15 man-years of work by scientists at CSIRO’s Energy Transformed Flagship in Newcastle.

BuildingIQ is backed by leading Sydney venture capital firm Exto Partners and founded by Michael Zimmerman, a former venture capitalist and technology executive.

BuildingIQ will be launched in Sydney this week with its first installation of the system in partnership with Investa Property Group, one of Australia’s largest owners of commercial real estate and a global leader in innovation and sustainability.

BuildingIQ CEO Michael Zimmerman said interest from building owners and property fund managers had been very strong.

“Owners want energy management initiatives with strong near-term ROI (return on investment) profile and limited capital requirements, so our solution is attractive. The potential to increase a building’s NABERS rating when there is such a heightened focus from investors, tenants and the Government on environmental initiatives is adding to the interest” Mr. Zimmerman said.

A trial of BuildingIQ last year at the CSIRO’s 4.5 star rated Newcastle Energy Centre achieved cost and energy savings of up to 30 per cent.

Investa’s General Manager of Sustainability, Safety & Environment Craig Roussac said he was excited about the potential for BuildingIQ to enhance occupant comfort while also delivering environmental benefits and cost savings.

“Investa is always looking for opportunities to collaborate on new technology that delivers value to our investors and tenants. BuildingIQ is unique in its potential to maintain or improve tenant comfort while improving energy efficiency. We are looking forward to seeing the results of this initiative” Mr. Roussac said.

The initial focus for BuildingIQ is heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which consume up to 60% of total energy in commercial buildings. In addition to the building management control system software, BuildingIQ has an add-on called ComfortIQ which allows tenants to provide real-time feedback on comfort levels to the building managers and the BuildingIQ system.

ComfortIQ also broadcasts information to tenants about energy prices and the amount of energy being consumed or saved in their building.

Commercial building energy use background

Commercial buildings are responsible for more than a third of global energy related greenhouse gas emissions and have been identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the largest and most cost effective sector for achieving greenhouse gas reductions.

Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co has estimated industrial and building efficiency upgrades could cut US end-use energy demand 17 per cent below 2008 levels by 2020.

The US building sector consumes 40 per cent of the energy used in the country and is responsible for nearly 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. HVAC

In Australia, the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act requires larger energy users and greenhouse gas emitters to report to the Department of Climate Change.

A recent study by Professors at UC Berkeley and Maastricht University showed that green buildings in the US sold for 16% more and had effective rents that were 6% higher than others.

Source: www.thegreenpages.com.au and www.buildingiq.com

Wide-scale adoption of low-emission distributed energy could reduce the cost of transitioning to a low-carbon future by as much a $130 billion by 2050, according to a new report released today by CSIRO.

11 December 2009

The CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship report:Intelligent Grid: A value proposition for wide-scale distributed energy solutions in Australia, outlines the potential contribution distributed energy can make to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Australia and how these benefits can be realised.

Distributed energy is a term used to describe technologies and systems which provide local generation of electrical power, energy efficiency and management of when and how energy is used (demand management).

For example, a distributed energy system could include a solar panel on a home for electricity generation, more efficient heating and cooling systems, or devices that can balance out energy demand and supply to reduce energy infrastructure costs.

The report is the culmination of the Flagship’s three year Intelligent Grid project which examined the social, technological, environmental and economic value of widespread distributed energy use in Australia.

CSIRO project leader Anthony Szatow said the results provided a strong economic and environmental case for wider use of distributed energy in the Australian energy market with enormous benefits for all electricity users in Australia.

“Our modelling results reveal that under emission reduction targets consistent with the Garnaut scenario of global stabilisation at 450ppm atmospheric CO2, the present value cost savings (discounted by seven per cent) associated with wide-scale distributed energy use could be as great as $130 billion by 2050,” Mr Szatow said.

“We also found that water used for electricity generation can be reduced by as much as 75 per cent through a combination of distributed energy technology and large-scale renewables.

“Distributed energy technologies are available now and these low-emission local energy options offer an immediate and cost effective response to climate change.”

The 592-page report identifies important factors that influence the use of distributed energy relevant to key energy stakeholders including; policy makers, regulators, distribution companies, energy retailers, energy consultants, communities, academics and consumers.

CSIRO initiated the National Research Flagships to provide science-based solutions in response to Australia’s major research challenges and opportunities. The 10 Flagships form multidisciplinary teams with industry and the research community to deliver impact and benefits for Australia.

Source: www.csiro.au