Government and institutional landlords have historically driven innovation in the green building sector, setting the pace by outfitting large projects with innovative building systems that show what’s possible.
Yet most commercial buildings aren’t the towers that define a skyline, but rather the small and often nondescript older buildings home to myriad small businesses. While upgrades have occurred to some of these buildings, the majority haven’t had the attention they deserve.
“The average commercial building in North America is about 15,000 square feet, so there are millions of small buildings that are still very expensive to operate,” said Rick Rolston, CEO of Vancouver-based BuiltSpace Technologies Corp., one of the first local companies to start pulling data from building systems so owners could use it to improve decision-making.
Growing connectivity of equipment – the so-called Internet of Things – combined with more affordable prices for the hardware that makes it possible to collect data, are increasing the opportunities for building owners of all sizes to better track and manage building systems and the environment they create.
While single-family homes can rely on Nest thermostats and other smart home devices, commercial building owners have typically paid closer attention to their building’s space than its environment.
“They’re managed financially to make a return, so the justification in the past hasn’t been there,” Rolston said. “But I think we’re now starting to see that justification.”
BuiltSpace works with 10,000 buildings. Its clients include the B.C. legislature, Concert Properties Ltd. and Morguard Investments Ltd.’s Uptown shopping centre in Victoria.
The latest focus is smaller buildings, those 75,000 square feet and under.
Rolston said the sweet spot is properties between 30,000 and 50,000 square feet, but energy-intensive or high-volume locations such as restaurants are also candidates because of the critical role energy and mechanical systems play in building operations.
BuiltSpace digitizes the service process so that contractors can make everything from work orders to invoices available electronically, and allow building owners to see the services being performed as they’re happening.
It recently partnered with Schneider Electric to develop a platform that will help Schneider’s monitoring and analytic tools serve the needs of small and mid-sized building owners, automating buildings that were typically too small for such investments.
Data analysis is where companies like Kambo Green Solutions Inc. have come to the fore.
Since its launch in 2014, Kambo has worked with more than 30 companies on projects that improve energy management. Building data is the basis for its project proposals, and it’s tracked to help owners see the payback upgrades deliver.
Kambo has chosen to focus on smaller companies, those with buildings of at least 20,000 square feet that lack an in-house energy management team. The buildings are often 20 to 40 years old and can benefit from systems upgrades.
“We really look at ourselves as outsourced energy managers,” said Kambo CEO Karim Abraham. “These are not multibillion-dollar companies operating these huge buildings – those companies typically have energy managers on staff. … We’re really going after what we bill as ‘the forgotten middle.’”
Many building owners don’t know what their energy use is costing them, let alone how they can reduce those costs. By gathering the information and presenting it in a way that supports their financial objectives, Kambo can improve both operating costs and building profitability.
To gather information, Kambo has partnered with California’s Lucid Design Group Inc., a management system that aggregates and analyzes building system data. It works with Vancouver-based Rainforest Automation, which developed a tool to pull consumption data from BC Hydro smart meters into Lucid’s system.
“If we can consolidate building data, if we can track their performance and get all the bills in one place and see when projects are making a difference, it lets us be data-driven around energy management,” Abraham said. “With historic cap rates being so low, if you can have a small improvement in your net operating income it’s a massive increase in your net asset value.”
The shift in operating costs can be significant.
BuiltSpace estimates the savings at 20% on inputs and labour, with further savings on administrative costs.
A timely response to under-performing building systems can also improve tenant satisfaction and retention.
This is good for not only landlords, but also companies like BuiltSpace, which expects to see its business grow as Schneider and other companies move to improve the efficiency of smaller commercial properties.
