Smart & Green Buildings
Modern Buildings
In 2014, residential and commercial buildings represented 41% of total U.S. energy consumption (U.S. Energy Information Administration) with the energy used by commercial and industrial buildings resulting in annual costs totaling $200 billion (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). Modern buildings are complex structures with different components that can control heating, air conditioning, lighting, ventilation, and security. With rising energy costs and the desire to support environmental concerns, businesses and building managers have a growing need to find ways to improve the efficiency of their facilities in a cost effective manner.
Motivation of Building Owners
Today’s buildings contain complex and sophisticated control systems necessary for improving the safety, comfort, and productivity of the occupants. While these systems provide a large volume of data and have improved building operations, they are not connected in an intelligent manner and the data collected is not efficiently used to support the objective of minimizing energy cost without sacrificing the occupants’ safety and comfort. Modern building owners are looking for intelligent building automation systems that can monitor, reason, analyze, and assess building control operations to optimize building performance.
Our Technology for Smart & Green Buildings
Cougaar Software, Inc. (CSI) has developed technology that can integrate and enhance existing building systems by adding a thin layer of intelligence that allows building owners to harness existing investments to support new intelligent capabilities without disruption. CSI’s ActiveEdge® creates a common operating picture that integrates all building operations from lights to networks to security and gives building managers the ability to monitor and control all aspects of building operations. By combining our technology with occupant recycling programs and sustainable construction programs, facilities can achieve a smart and complete green building sustainability program that reduces energy use and costs. CSI can automate certain decisions while monitoring for unexpected events to bring to the attention of decision makers; thus, creating smart and green buildings that minimize energy cost to the owners and reduce the impact to the environment.