Arloid Automation of London and Dubai is proposing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help reduce energy consumption, thereby increasing security of supply. Energy shortage has been dominating the news lately with some countries like Sri Lanka facing an acute energy crisis resulting in business and economic turmoil.
In the ‘business energy tracker’ survey 77% of organisations highlight energy as their top business concern due to the volatility of the wholesale market. This report was published by nPower Business Solutions in June 2022. These businesses are now urging Government to respond with measures to protect them from the impact of the energy crisis. And by helping businesses whole economies are supported too.
Reducing demand is a fairly simple process and can be achieved when the building management system, together with the AI optimises performance of all the building services, thus reducing energy use by up to 30% when it’s not needed. By setting up AI connectivity the system can learn precisely what is required for optimum comfort and efficiency.
The steps involved to reduce energy consumption involve the creation of a digital twin of the building. Construction materials, occupancy rates, pollution levels, past, present and predicted weather data, and thermal zones are all taken into account.
When the digital model is complete the AI can begin to learn with arloid.ai gathering live data on the correct responses to an array of changing conditions and occupancy levels. Optimum settings can then be found for each microzone to reduce energy, coolant and carbon emissions. It is only then that these precise changes can be made to the real building with savings of up to 30% being seen in just 60 days.
Arloid Automation has removed the financial barriers for this service by implementing the process with no upfront costs. Instead a fee is agreed from the resultant savings and if there are no savings then there is no fee.
Arloid.ai uses Deep Reinforcement Learning to automatically manage the operation of HVAC systems in a wide range of buildings via a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN). It then makes decisions based on reinforcement behaviour and real-time data to provide faster optimisation and better HVAC performance. By controlling each HVAC device in the system and dividing the building into distinct heating and cooling micro-zones, arloid.ai provides more control of the environment and better user comfort.
The AI technology is gaining momentum across the world with savings being achieved over 56 million square feet. This includes many types of commercial building such as retail premises, hotels, medical centres, warehouses. By reducing energy use the cost savings can put the business at a commercial advantage.
Artificial intelligence is one way to quickly and dramatically reduce energy consumption and by doing so aid energy security. It’s an obvious method to start the ball rolling to reduce demand and this can form part of an overall strategy including good insulation and renewable energy measures. This should be an easy first step for all buildings with building management systems worldwide but is especially pertinent for those countries struggling to obtain energy supplies.