New platform should allow non-domestic users to cut utility bills and carbon emissions by 25 per cent within a year, says creators
Opti-Twin, a sister company of Leeds-based major building physics engineering consultancy Yonder, says its ground-breaking platform should therefore enable users to see returns on their investments inside 12 months. The organisation claims its innovation is exactly what occupants need at a time of soaring energy bills and the pressing need to cut buildings’ carbon emissions.
Jon Gill, head of Opti-Twin, said: “Our platform allows future energy consumption to be optimised, forecast and controlled much more accurately than before, as it analyses each building’s usage data against its own ideal level, derived from detailed, state-of-the-art modelling. Opti-Twin then translates these sophisticated comparisons into understandable and actionable insights, allowing users to take practical steps towards this optimisation.”
Mr Gill explained the energy use of most non-commercial premises was currently monitored by traditional building energy management or building management systems (known as BeMS and BMS), to which he saw Opti-Twin as the perfect complement. He added that some other sites now used cloud-based platforms, broadly similar to BeMS and BMS, and said the new platform was the ideal replacement for these.
He said: “The limitations of BeMS and BMS, compared to Opti-Twin, include they tend to be purely monitoring tools with few, if any, automated analytical capabilities, so significant human time and energy are usually needed to assess the data they provide. Such systems also offer no scientific basis for predicting and optimising future consumption, for example.
“And, unlike Opti-Twin, current cloud-based monitoring tools can’t receive limitless data from literally any source that provides it via sensors – such as BeMS and BMS, meters and utility portals. Nor can they compare real-time results against scientifically modelled ideal performance or provide prompts, suggestions and easier buy-in for desirable staff behaviour changes.”
Two years in development by experts, Opti-Twin is available on users’ computers or phones and can be accessed across an organisation. It is cloud-based, involving no additional software, with users receiving system updates automatically.
Mr Gill said: “Opti-Twin is straightforward to operate, internet of things-enabled and potentially works in any language. It can monitor or analyse the energy consumption of individual rooms and areas, as well as whole properties, plus generate automatic alarms and email notifications for data outside set tolerance levels.
“Features such as users, functionality, datapoints and dashboards, which can be corporately branded easily, are added simply. In addition, manual input is straightforward but not essential.”
Mr Gill said Opti-Twin was capable of producing numerous reports, covering aspects such as air quality and building occupancy patterns. It could monitor carbon dioxide levels, solar and wind generation, compare the performance of photovoltaic panels with predicted levels, and even help manage waste and recycling, for example.
He said: “Opti-Twin potentially provides user organisations with a wide range of crucial benefits, on top of the cost and carbon advantages, such as delivering improved levels of corporate social responsibility and uncovering previously hidden inefficiencies.
“The system also identifies areas for improvement, detects faults, and enables best practice to be spread across an organisation.”
Mr Gill said Opti-Twin would be a boon to anyone responsible for non-domestic property’s energy consumption and cost, including facilities, sustainability and asset managers. He said the platform worked in one building or across large estates – even where all sites had different BeMS or BMS – and operated irrespective of buildings’ location, size, sector, purpose, age or length of occupancy.
Opti-Twin is available for an initial set-up fee, followed by a monthly subscription.
Mr Gill said: “The importance of a bespoke, consultative approach in delivering Opti-Twin’s benefits, which ensures users derive maximum value from their investments in it, explains why we don’t make it available directly.
“The platform is only obtainable through the highly skilled and qualified Yonder building physics engineers who do the energy modelling, which is a cornerstone of the service.”
For further information about Opti-Twin, click here
For further information about Yonder Consulting, click here
