Smart Workplace
Changing Landscape
Of late, environmental sustainability has emerged as an important goal for many businesses. Some businesses have realized that their day to day operations result in a negative environmental impact while some view increased efficiency in energy and resource use as a way to reduce costs and thus increase profits. One emerging driving factor is the public image of a company and consumers perception of businesses that make a real effort to reduce their corporate carbon footprint, a common measure of the impact of their operations on the environment. More and more companies are coming forward with Corporate Social Responsibility plans that include the reduction of their carbon footprint. Still, others see going green as a means of staying ahead of regulatory pressures and avoiding legal hassles as new legislation takes shape in countries all over the world.
Increased Energy Consumption
With the advent of Office Automation, businesses today consume a huge amount of energy. Almost everything that we use in the office consumes energy, from the air-conditioning systems, lighting, PCs, printers, photocopiers, scanners, networks, business applications running on powerful energy hungry servers, projectors in meeting rooms to the coffee machine in the pantry. Contrast this with the office of yesterday where there were only desks and typewriters, fans and lights and we quickly realise how much energy a business consumes today.
What is more alarming is that much of this energy is wasted by office equipment sitting idle while employees are engaged in meetings, sometimes for as much as 4-6 hours each working day. With a highly mobile and global workforce, offices are sometimes half empty as employees commute for meetings and other business activities. Yet, lighting and air-conditioning continue to operate at full capacity.
For all the advances in office automation technology, the buildings that house offices have largely remain the same. In fact, as more and more skyscrapers are built and with demand for offices with a view, more glass is being used and more heat is being transmitted into such buildings requiring more energy to power the air-conditioning systems. This translates into a higher energy bill for businesses today especially those with a large number of employees spread out in many geographical regions.
Shaspa Smart Workplace
The Shaspa Smart Workplace is a scalable and modular open platform that utilises a network of intelligent sensors connected to the Shaspa Bridge and the Shaspa Service Framework to help visualise, measure and systematically collect data from office environments to provide powerful analytical visualisations that in turn enable smart decisions to be made, ultimately leading to a reduction in energy usage.
The intelligent sensor network includes temperature, relative humidity, energy, water, gas, cameras, light intensity, occupancy and many other environmental sensors connected to the Shaspa Bridge through wireless or wired technology. Actuators such as relays, smart plugs, flow and pressure control valves are used to optimise air-conditioning for comfort and energy, to turn off offie equipment that is not in use and to optimise the office environment for comfort, convenience while at the same time reducing the energy usage.
Wireless sensors attached to a seat can sense if someone has left their desk ,PCs and other desktop equipment can then be put into ‘sleep’ mode to reduce the power used. HVAC systems can be optimised to cater for lower heat load when employees are away or commuting between offices or when the external weather is cool. Printers, photocopiers and other office equipment can be shut down or put into ‘sleep’ mode after office hours or during low usage periods.
To balance the demand for a comfortable productive office equipped with all the latest technology while keeping the overall corporate carbon footprint to a minimum, offices and businesses need to first have the ability to measure their carbon impact of their business operations. The Shaspa Energy and Carbon Dashboards allow offices in different locations and geographies to compare themselves against each other and for best practices to be shared amongst the different offices. Over time, an energy smart workforce emerges.
Studies have shown that an optimised office can use up to 33% less energy than one that does not have the capability to quantify or measure their energy usage. Progressive companies may also want to engage their customers by making such energy data or their carbon footprint available at customer service lobbies, or on their corporate websites or even on social media such as such as Twitter and Facebook.
So take a look at what Shaspa can do for you and get started on the road to energy efficiency. Contact us at info@shaspa.com or via contact form.
