by Shane Henson — August 26, 2013—Western Kentucky University (WKU) is closer to reaching its sustainability goals by working closely with Johnson Controls to increase energy efficiency in 56 buildings across three campuses in Bowling Green.
Johnson Controls, a global provider of solutions that increase energy efficiency in buildings, installed its Panoptix building efficiency platform to work in tandem with its Metasys building management system already installed on the campus. Together, the two systems collect, manage, analyze and present data through applications that can be accessed on most electronic devices, including mobile phones. The applications provide detailed information into how building systems are functioning, how to make equipment last longer, and how to make operations more efficient, says Johnson Controls.
Dale Dyer, plant operations manager at WKU, considers the university’s investment in Panoptix to be a wise choice, and said it gives his team of facilities managers the ability to take advantage of the full capabilities of their building automation systems.
“They’ve always known lots of data is gathered and there’s value in it, but they haven’t had the time or the resources to sift, sort and interpret it. So its value has remained locked up and beyond reach,” said Dyer. “Panoptix has changed that.”
According to Johnson Controls, WKU recovered their investment in the Panoptix platform in less than six months by addressing system faults that pointed to equipment that was wasting energy by not performing optimally. These savings and other retrofit savings on the WKU campus may be reinvested to purchase new, more efficient equipment. For example, savings from a recent retrofit program were reinvested to purchase two new natural gas boilers to replace inefficient boilers.
