How Can You Effectively Manage Building Energy Remotely?
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As more building owners and mechanical service providers (MSPs) deploy smart sensors on equipment, there’s a growing need for effective remote building monitoring systems. As a result, the market research firm, MarketsandMarkets predicts the global market for Internet of Things (IoT) enabled remote asset management solutions will grow from $16.5 billion in 2020 to $32.6 billion by 2025.
Adopting remote monitoring systems helps facility managers track energy usage, identify energy waste and prioritize service to maintain peak building energy performance. Additionally, it pinpoints the root issue causes quicker to help technicians know the system effect and recommended fix to decrease time to repair and service more buildings, thereby increasing revenue.
However, to effectively manage building systems remotely, facilities need a technology platform that does more than send data. It should provide actionable information presented in a user-friendly dashboard. From there, an MSP can efficiently dispatch technicians with proactive insights to speed up the troubleshooting process. Use the following tips to improve your process.
Equip Buildings With IoT Remote Monitoring Systems
Facility managers choose remote monitoring systems to optimize investments in intelligent sensors and IoT tools. However, some programs lack diagnostics data, don’t provide building fault detection, or fail to offer energy insights. Consequently, technicians spend more time on site, and optimization features, like detecting energy hogs, go unnoticed.
On the other hand, an advanced system goes beyond alerts when an error occurs. Our Building Optimization Broker (BOB) connects building optimization to service workflows. It uses ASHRAE-based rules to diagnose the issue, locate the specific fault diagnostic, and suggest a solution — all on one screen. Moreover, BOB energy utility dashboards provide energy-related insights.
Set Up Workflows to Assess and Respond to Problems
With BOB in place, buildings are monitored 24/7 to detect anomalies and prioritize work to get ahead of issues before someone calls to complain. Next, it’s time to automate service requests and communications. This may be done in BOB, or easily integrated into your existing work order system, using the Key2Act Integration Hub. Doing so helps MSPs streamline and track service workflow steps, from triage to resolution.
Service managers also enable automatic service call status email updates for customers and send automated text reminders to technicians informing them of their schedule or notifying them of last-minute changes. In addition, the mobile application lets technicians view BOB fault diagnostics so that they can arm themselves with the right tools and parts for the task.
Combining these tools in one remote monitoring system allows MSPs to initiate and schedule service while tracking status from beginning to end. Meanwhile, technicians locate and quickly fix the issue, then move on to the next task.
Use Historical and Real-Time Data for Better Decision-Making
BOB helps MSPs visualize HVAC systems deteriorating trends from energy-efficient baselines and provides monthly inspection reports into four critical areas – Energy, Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Preventative Maintenance. Service managers use the information to prioritize faults, troubleshoot root causes, and make a business case for retrofits or repairs.
Furthermore, BOB supports monitoring-based commissioning and automates Energy Star compliance. These time-savers help MSPs or facility managers improve tenant experiences and maintain optimum building performance.
Start to Manage Building Systems Remotely
Overseeing occupied and unoccupied buildings remotely is time-consuming and frustrating when the sensor is a call from a human complaining about a building issue with little to no root cause context of what’s wrong. Intelligent sensors and remote monitoring systems allow MSPs and technicians to service more buildings without scaling staff and most importantly speeds up the service process by providing the system effect and recommended fix to improve work efficiency. BOB helps mechanical service providers scale their services while improving customer experiences every step along the way. Contact us to explore options that help manage building systems remotely.