What Chris saw at GreenBuild!

Greenbuild 2010 in Chicago was all about “Technology”. Many companies are seeing a void in the market for the communication between the user and new foreign technology. For example, Building Management Systems (BMS) spit out an incomprehensible amount of data about the systems running a building. When a system goes has a problem, a building engineer rarely can decipher the data from the BMS to find the problem, so they use methods they have learned throughout their career. The BMS is ignored and a waste of money in this sense. A company called Scientific Conservatism has come out with predictive analysis software to perform automated continuous commissioning. To learn more about Scientific Conservation, please visit their website www.scientificconservation.com.

Dashboards have become very popular among building owners and users. They offer real-time data of current usage of water, electricity, and therms as well as current solar production (if applicable). Lucid Design is a very popular dashboard as it is very user friendly and is very aesthetically pleasing. Quality Attributes Software (QAS) offers a more robust dashboard; however, it isn’t as pleasing to the eye. Although some owners prefer the ease of Lucid’s dashboard, others may be interested in the detail of QAS’ software such as engineers and facilities managers.

Autodesk seems to never disappoint its audience as they unveiled a new Rapid Energy Modeling software called Autodesk ImageModeler, and Autodesk Green Building Studio. These two programs along with Autodesk Revit Architecture provide instant results on what the modeled facility’s total utility costs should be. For example, DPR Construction worked with Autodesk to develop the software using two of their offices in Sacramento, CA and Redwood City, CA. The model showed that the Sacramento Office was operating 5% more efficiently than the model, and the Redwood City office was operating 15% less efficient than the model. The Redwood City office was known to have a few misfiring controls, which DPR knew about, so the model helped confirm the problems within the building. Click the link to see Autodesk’s YouTube video of their new Rapid Energy Modeling software http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq-zGXosSZc.

Thank you Chris!