by Shane Henson — April 12, 2013—InsideIQ Building Automation Alliance, an international alliance of independent building automation contractors, recently launched a customizable tool that allows facilities managers to monitor and report on energy and water use at any building.
The organization says its new InsideIQ Energy Dashboard is especially useful for small to midsize property managers who would normally not be able to afford this type of tool to collect information about their facility. The Energy Dashboard is available from any of the 48 InsideIQ member firms, located in North America, The Netherlands and Australia.
The Energy Dashboard can be set to show real-time energy use alongside historical and peak usage data for performance comparison, says InsideIQ. Screens depicting total use are available that illustrate actual and typical use on a daily, monthly or annual basis. An available Weather Bar with current and forecast weather data further helps users anticipate energy use. The dashboard can also be branded with the facility operator’s name and graphic style to give it a fully customized look, notes InsideIQ.
In addition, building owners and managers have the choice to use the InsideIQ Energy Dashboard in a variety of ways. Facility staff can monitor energy and water use from their desktops in order to maintain efficient operations of the facility, or the dashboard information may be displayed on monitors in a public area of a building to inform occupants of energy usage and savings in order to motivate them to conserve resources.
