See on Scoop.it – Green Building Operations – Systems & Controls, Maintenance & Commissioning

A federal project to tie 50 buildings into a sensored, enterprise-level-managed platform gets underway.

“One of GSA’s more ambitious projects, launched this summer, plans to link 50 of the government’s highest energy-consuming buildings, comprising 31 million square feet, into an intelligent energy management network, from building sensors to enterprise-level management. IBM is the lead on the project, but it is working with various other consulting and technology providers, including SkyFoundry, Environmental Systems Inc. (ESI), Honeywell’s Tridium building controls platform and consultancy Intelligent Buildings.”

“The government can access cheap, long-term loans to pay for efficiency upgrades with a longer-term payback than private building owners can. The GSA is also pretty sure it’s going to be owning the same buildings it’s investing in a decade or two from now — something that’s not true in the commercial real estate world. Most efficiency experts say that commercial building owners and managers are demanding a 1- to 2-year payback on their investments, which has limited the market somewhat.”

See on www.greentechmedia.com