- JLL
- Energy
- IoT
JLL article
Author, Mark Parker, MD of MetaB3E - May 22.Captured and analysed, this data has allowed Wates FM, JLL and Royal London to monitor usage and behaviours to inform energy management, reduce energy consumption and ultimately generate carbon and cost savings.
Putting forward a business case for the initiative, Wates FM proposed to sponsor the installation and management of the EMS for 12 months, allowing JLL and Royal London to evaluate the system’s energy management potential completely free of charge. Installed by green tech SME, MetaB3E, the new EMS is a non-intrusive plug-and-play system that uses a state-of-the-art technology, that provides accurate real-time metered consumption data and analysis through MetaB3E’s IoT platform.
A true test bed for JLL and the landlord, Royal London’s, future energy management and carbon reduction strategies, the EMS has been transformative, providing visibility of energy use to identify and mitigate waste. In February 2021,Royal London installed a new BMS system at 45 Church Street, a change that was immediately evident in data from the EMS. Through its intelligent data monitoring, the EMS was able to demonstrate a 27% reduction in energy use in air handling.
All vital data that would not be available to JLL and Royal London without the EMS.
The Business Case
As a leading M&E provider, Wates FM is committed to adding value to its clients, introducing them to new, more progressive and better ways of managing their estates. In 2020, this saw Wates FM put forward a business case to work collaboratively with JLL and Royal London to install the new EMS to record energy consumption, facilitate more intelligent building use and demonstrate carbon reduction. The business case was developed in partnership with digital FM specialists, MetaB3E, which became one of Wates’ innovation partners through its green tech division, Wates Sustainable Technology Services. Identified as a leader in innovative sustainable technology, MetaB3E was introduced to JLL and Royal London with a pledge from Wates that it would invest its contractual profits into the EMS system, making Wates FM a sponsor of a 12-month trial to demonstrate results to JLL and Royal London.
The Objective
With an overall objective to enhance JLL and Royal London’s energy management strategies, installation of the EMS was intended to provide real-time consumption data and visibility on energy use with the aim of then using this data to understand and forecast energy costs and carbon emissions, subsequently allowing Wates FM, JLL and Royal London to identify and mitigate against inefficiencies. The EMS was proposed as a means of giving a baseline of what was happening on the 8th floor of 45 Church Street in terms of energy consumption for both Royal London as the landlord, and JLL as the tenant, capturing data from their respective distribution boards. Capturing and analysing energy consumption, Wates FM, JLL and Royal London could then work collaboratively to understand usage and behaviours to identify areas for change, promote increased efficiencies and intelligent engineering, whilst reducing energy usage to achieve carbon reduction and cost savings.
The System
Installed by MetaB3E, the EMS Proof of Concept is designed to turn the invisible ‘visible’, being able to demonstrate exactly where energy is used so that reductions can be targeted to specific areas. The EMS provides an energy baseline of what is going on, which then allows for accurate recording of energy reductions. There are many things that can be done to reduce energy consumption from heat pumps to LED lighting, but to be the most efficient and add the most value, these decisions must be based on what a building is actually doing. The EMS on the 8th floor of 45 Church Street has been installed for a period of 12 months and is able to report separate energy and carbon usage data for each circuit on the landlords and tenant’s distribution boards, which is currently occupied by JLL. The beauty of the system is its adaptability and accessibility; the system can be accessed by desktop or through a mobile app, it provides detailed reporting and analysis and alertsengineers on site so alarms can be investigated and responded to immediately. The EMS also offers 8 three-phase metering points with physical connectivity for a variety of wireless IoT devices, including the installation of pipework sensors to take automated tap temperatures, triggering alarms for temperatures that are out of range, enabling intelligent monitoring of water hygiene.
The Results
With the EMS installed, the team has full visibility to the energy cost of the site, a cost variable that is traditionally hard to track. When a team is on site, the management know the cost of the labour, and any materials required for the work. However, they can now accurately track (live) the cost of energy, along with carbon emissions - a cost variable that has previously difficult to track. Tracking relative humidity and temperature outside the building, is helpful for EWI (External Wall Insulation) specifications. EWI render solutions, can in most cases only be applied in dry conditions with temperatures over 5c, and lower than 25c, and when air relative humidity is lower than 80%.Usually, the temperature check is a manual process completed via the site log, which can bring some inaccuracies through human factors. The IoT humidity and temperature sensors installed on site address this with accurate, real time, 24/7 temperature readings, all logged and backdated from the day of install.The Next Steps
The success of the pilot EMS at 45 Church Street can be seen within the data it has captured; the EMS has given the 8th floor a digital brain, which can inform JLL and Royal London’s estate strategy and can be further enhanced by adding additional IoT devices to finetune the building. The pilot EMS has given JLL and Royal London a firm basis on which to build their energy strategies. The system gives them vital information on the building’s energy use, and how much carbon it emits, which can then inform the most effective measures to reduce both. The added benefit of the EMS initiative at 45 Church Street is the wider conversations it is facilitating with regards to JLL and Royal London’s Environmental, Social and Governance strategy. Both JLL and Royal London have respective sustainability targets, as do their tenants. By championing this pioneering initiative, each of the project partners has laid testament to their own commitment to operating responsibly and sustainably as the UK moves towards its Net Zero targets.