Dive Brief:
-
Seattle-based energy management and cloud-based analytics start-up BuildPulse has locked in a $1.3 million raise from a group of local angel investors, GeekWire reported.
-
The plug-and-play software integrates with existing building automation systems to provide building owners and managers with reporting on energy consumption.
-
Energy management systems continue to garner attention from investors. In August 2015, Seattle-based Optimum Energy secured $10 million in funding, while Washington, DC-based Aquicore announced a $5 million raise in June 2016.
Dive Insight:
As energy management systems proliferate among commercial real estate operators, developers continue to focus on automating analytics and decision-making to reduce load and off-set peak consumption, thereby cutting energy costs.
Systems rely on time of day, occupancy, seasonal and historical usage data as well as data from comparable building portfolios to help asset managers optimize energy consumption by dialing back HVAC and lighting when it’s not needed.
The overall upshot in energy savings could be huge. If all U.S. buildings were a country, they would be the third-biggest consumer of energy globally, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. The group announced last month that the Urban Land Institute would carry out the Tenant Energy Optimization Program to help building operators better influence energy consumption through design.
By adopting energy management strategies and tactics across the design-build-occupy building lifecycle, ULI says, building owners could see additional energy savings from 30% to 50%, with payback on program adoption within three to five years.
