Infometrics enables owners to reduce building operating costs and improve building comfort.

Most property owners do not pay enough attention to the economic consequences that these challenges lead to.
Energy costs are one of the main expenses of a building, and as energy prices rise, they become dominant. More than 80% of all buildings have never been studied for energy efficiency potential. Building management is often assessed by energy consumption, but once a certain level of tenant comfort is achieved, its cost is often not taken into account.

In addition, most buildings (even new, so-called “smart buildings”) are managed and operated by facility management staff or outsourced entirely to a separate company. Facility management staff are skilled in operating simple mechanical equipment and performing simple repairs, but unfortunately, they lack the knowledge and skills to quickly diagnose the operation of all systems and analyze the costs of servicing the building. The lack of such experience means that repairs and troubleshooting of equipment are usually done on an ad hoc basis. Ultimately, this approach turns out to be more expensive for owners, who begin to realize that the existing approach is highly ineffective in managing their real estate assets and look for ways to improve their return on investment. The corporate thinking model has been applied to many areas of business: supply chain management, manufacturing, inventory control, quality control, human resources, etc.

Today is the right time to apply this model to the management of the entire enterprise service system. Now the building automation system should be considered not just as a set of controllers, but as an integral part of the entire IT infrastructure of the structure.

Cimetrics independently collects and processes data and provides owners with a suite of reports for their buildings' energy and maintenance departments. These reports provide analysis and recommendations for energy savings, cost reductions for energy consumption and operation, maintenance and adjustment of equipment, and data for assessing the overall efficiency of the building.

Infometrics Saves Over $1 Million in Energy Costs at Mohegan Sun Casino (Uncasville, CT)

The result is a comprehensive set of objective and consistent recommendations and information for building management that can reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs, and identify potential equipment problems to avoid downtime while replacing them. This process of collecting data, analyzing it, and preparing reports is called Infometrics. Infometrics is a tool for understanding and managing building operations, and it also provides information for structuring building maintenance costs and return on investment.

With a small investment, Infometrics immediately initiates a sustainable process of reduction in the operational cost structure of a building.

Infometrics provides many benefits to building owners:
– Reduced energy consumption in the building and, accordingly, its cost.
– Prioritization of equipment maintenance.
– Reduced downtime of mechanical equipment caused by failure/malfunction.
– Improved building operation methods.
– Commissioning of mechanical and building management systems.
– Reduced risk of ventilation system problems.
– Optimal modification of mechanical equipment.
– Increased occupant comfort.
– Information on building energy consumption trends.

Cimetrics Inc. and Infometrics

Cimetrics Inc. provides owners of commercial, municipal and industrial real estate with services for the management, maintenance and operation of buildings and the assessment of energy costs. Infometrics solutions allow the company to collect information from the automation system in the client's building (control of air conditioning, lighting, fire protection and fire extinguishing systems, etc.) in real time, combine it with information from other sources, apply its own algorithms and develop regular and detailed reports for the building maintenance and energy management departments.

Cimetrics has been instrumental in the development and promotion of the BACnet standard, the leading standard in building automation that has become the international standard ISO 16484+5. Cimetrics is a leader in the development of BACnet software, network analyzers and routers, which, along with the analysis and recommendation procedures, are used in Infometrics services.

Cimetrics communicates with the mechanical equipment management service via the building automation and management system and the connection to the energy meters, receiving a constant flow of data.
In the past, such information was considered “raw” and was of no interest due to its complexity and large volume. However, Cimetrics now receives it from many buildings and sends it to a central database, where the company’s engineers, using original algorithms, analyze the received information.

The foundation for creating “smart homes” is being formed at a rapid pace due to the accelerated development of new technologies and the Internet. Cimetrics has developed technology and services that make the concept of a “smart home” a reality for building owners. To allow customers to reduce energy costs and improve equipment performance, Cimetrics offers its development – ​​Infometrics, with the help of which owners can integrate automation systems and energy equipment with information systems at the corporate level.

This will help to significantly improve control over the management of commercial, municipal and industrial buildings, reduce the cost of maintenance and increase efficiency due to improved interconnection of various systems in the building.

Of those presented on the market today, Infometrics is the only solution for remote monitoring of real estate objects, it reflects the developments of the Cimetrics company in the field of system compatibility, proprietary analysis algorithms, engineering tools and high-class service. Each client is “led” by a personal analyst, providing full access to data and service on a number of issues — viewing interim reports, supporting communications and solving problems.

Cimetrics' professional team of engineers, project managers and analysts offer expertise in energy consumption and building management, as well as all aspects related to upgrading energy equipment at facilities to improve operational efficiency, which in turn saves the client money. The company provides services for analyzing energy consumption costs, long-term monitoring, preparing analysis and reporting on building performance.
Cimetrics is the optimal solution developed exclusively for facility owners.

Information inside the building

The value of the information provided by Infometrics primarily comes from data from sensors and actuators connected to the building automation system and its mechanical equipment. This data, in combination with system and equipment operating points, provides a wealth of useful information about the effectiveness of the control system and the possible source of problems, especially when this cannot be detected by a routine inspection of the equipment.

Typically, in a large building, the amount of information is very large — for example, if you read data from 1000 points every 15 minutes, you will get 35,000,000 samples of results in a year. Some facilities have thousands of sensors and actuators, and special methods and devices are needed to collect, analyze and manage all this information. It is not surprising that most building maintenance departments are not able to make more or less effective analysis of the data from the control system.

Cimetrics specialists have put a lot of effort and time into developing methods for extracting valuable information from the received data. Results from sensors from all points and documentation on building systems are reviewed by Infometrics analysts to determine the most valuable information. The Infometrics system is designed in accordance with all requirements of building system safety and information security standards.

Stages of Infometrics work

Data collection
The Infometrics system interacts with the mechanical equipment in the building (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, etc.) through automation systems, energy meters, with a constant exchange of information.
After collecting data from various systems, Cimetrics encrypts it and transmits it in this form over the Internet for analysis. This method of processing information allows you to collect and analyze data from thousands of objects over a long period from anywhere in the world.

Computer data processing
Cimetrics electrical and mechanical engineers use proven algorithms and software to evaluate building performance. The analysis algorithms use static (equipment specifications, system design) and weather data against operational data for each element of the HVAC system as well as all mechanical systems in the building.
Infometrics algorithms are developed based on industry-standard technologies and scientific research. Infometrics' team of analysts provides objective assessment of the performance of engineering systems in a building, the purpose of which is to increase the value of the given object for its owner.

Report
Cimetrics analysts periodically prepare a report based on Infometrics data on the performance of the building's engineering systems. It includes information on the management of building energy consumption and mechanical systems performance, as well as special proposals in order of priority. Here, the final characteristics of energy consumption and equipment operation are determined, the discrepancy between calculated and actual results is analyzed, problems are identified and solutions are proposed.

Recommendationsfrom the Infometrics system point to hidden difficulties in the operation of equipment, which enables the owner to take preventive measures. The building management service can act much more efficiently, optimizing the performance of systems, reducing downtime due to malfunctions and increasing the comfort of the building.

Data processing

The facility management service needs concise and accurate information to improve the performance of systems in the building. This is what Infometrics was created for.

Cimetrics provides objective information to Infometrics clients by combining the use of modern technology with the analysis of experienced engineers. Infometrics reports include specialized proposals, most of which can be implemented at the lowest cost.

Infometrics analysis and recommendations are based on research conducted in the areas of equipment failure, fault diagnosis, building optimization systems and commissioning. Cimetrics has used these developments to create algorithms and software that allow Infometrics specialists to process data received from clients' building systems in the shortest possible time.

An Infometrics analyst is assigned to each client. Their responsibilities include developing a data collection strategy, analyzing the information collected, preparing reports and recommendations, and consulting with the client on any questions that arise.
All Infometrics analysts have experience and expertise in the operation of building mechanical systems or energy systems. Cimetrics employees can consult with specialists in building automation systems, HVAC equipment, and information analysts.

Cimetrics believes that the method used in Infometrics is the best way for owners to be sure of the feasibility of its use in optimizing all building systems.

Benefits for clients

After a visual demonstration of the advantages of using this approach on real objects, this method became more understandable to clients. Several independent assessments were conducted to determine the economic effect of implementing the Infometrics system.

Kogod Business School at American University (Washington, DC).

With its low cost price, the Infometrics system allows the client to immediately begin reducing building operating costs.
The building owner also receives valuable information on equipment regulation, occupant comfort/safety, and monitoring of critical equipment situations. Table 2 shows operating cost savings from several of the company's customers who have implemented the system. The data provided illustrates savings from reduced energy costs only and does not include the benefits that the owner received from equipment support, operation, and regulation.

Case Study: How Remote Monitoring Capabilities Help American University Reduce Costs and Increase Efficiency

Infometrics at work in The Ward Circle building at American University (Washington, DC)

Washington, D.C. — Universities large and small are continually looking to reduce their building operating costs in order to improve the student experience.

An American university faces the very difficult task of managing the buildings of its 85-acre campus located in a prestigious area in northwest Washington. The university management decided to achieve an ideal balance between tuition costs and educational priorities. Like most educational institutions, the university seeks to increase its own efficiency without compromising the quality of education.

Cost-Efficiency in the Implementation of the System and Its Optimization Table 1

Client Objectives

The university formulated a 15-point strategic plan to facilitate the changes. The main goal of the plan was to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of building operations within three years. In searching for ways to solve these problems, the university's facilities management service turned its attention to Infometrics remote analysis and optimization technologies, which made it possible to solve equipment operation problems, increase the comfort of facilities, optimize energy use, and identify the need for equipment replacement in existing buildings and energy nodes on campus.

Analysis of the solution used

The remote analysis and optimization program was developed for three university buildings and included such important components as data collection from the equipment in operation, work of expert analysts and preparation of reports. The goal is to provide independent recommendations on equipment management for the building management service with further use to reduce costs and improve productivity.

To conduct the study, which would analyze all the information on all the university’s facilities, Cimetrics specialists, having confirmed that the existing building automation system at the university was able to collect, compile and transmit large amounts of information for further analysis in real time, created a secure connection between the existing building automation system and the remote Cimetrics database for collecting and transmitting data in real time. As a communication interface for 3,000 data collection points, the Infometrics system used a routable BACnet firewall device.

The report prepared by the analysis and optimization program included modern recommendations for engineers on preventing equipment breakdowns, identifying problems and solving them, as well as suggestions for timely support of equipment in buildings and reducing the time for their repair.

Thanks to the information contained in the report, the university received a clear picture of energy consumption, recommendations for equipment support and management, as well as a real opportunity to reduce its operating costs and optimize the operation of all equipment for greater reliability.

At Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, an Infometrics monitoring system helped manage energy and utility costs at the Langone Athletic Center

Importance of the Results to the Client

The university did not have the ability to monitor energy consumption at each individual building, but combined across the three facilities monitored, the findings could have saved approximately $125,000 in potential energy savings alone.

The monitoring revealed that the technological equipment in the buildings under observation required considerable repairs and replacements. Most of the problems identified were closely related and affected the comfort of living in the buildings. The ability to find and resolve these problems before they become known and cause dissatisfaction among residents satisfies the chosen strategic plan.

Remote analysis revealed errors, performed diagnostics of the systems' operation, and determined the cost indicators for the university's facility maintenance costs, which is impossible to achieve by conducting a single inspection of equipment or any software product.

«We are so busy processing daily equipment performance indicators that we do not have enough time to get to the bottom of the causes of problems. Remote analysis and optimization service gives a complete picture of how our systems are performing as a whole and what we need to do to achieve better performance.»

Based on materials from the AutomatedBuildings website