New innovation helps owners better manage building performance

Johnson Controls, a $40 billion, Fortune 100 global leader in building efficiency, has launched Panoptix in the Middle East. This newest innovation helps owners better manage building performance, energy consumption and comply with new mandates for green buildings without compromising occupant comfort. 

In the UAE, approximately 60 percent of energy is consumed by buildings.  The Panoptix solution helps building owners and operators reduce energy consumption through better visibility and analysis of systems, providing information, tools and support to manage building performance more effectively.

The Panoptix solution includes four key components:

• An open technology platform that makes it easy to collect and manage data from disparate building systems and other data sources, such as meter and weather data;

• A suite of cloud-hosted building efficiency applications that work with any building management system, including Metasys by Johnson Controls.

• On-line and by-phone Live Guide  support, as well as on-site building and energy services to help customers implement operational improvements and energy-savings measures.

• An online Panoptix connected community of peers and experts committed to sharing best practices, news and resources.

The Panoptix solution addresses many of the requirements in a recently-announced Green Economy Initiative that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The initiative includes six major fields covering a wide range of legislation, policies and projects, many of which are focused on making public and private sector buildings more sustainable by 2014.

“Leaders in the UAE are committed to creating a more energy efficient, sustainable future and recognise that building management can help reach these goals,” said Laura Farnham, vice president, building technology and services, Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls. “The Panoptix solution provides insight to help owners make timely decisions, empowering them to optimise building performance and energy efficiency without compromising comfort.”

Four initial cloud-based applications are available, with plans for additional Johnson Controls and partner-developed applications to be added over time. 

The initial set includes: Continuous Diagnostics Advisor that will detect abnormal energy consumption and provides early warnings about equipment faults; Carbon and Energy Reporter  to track energy usage and carbon emissions across an enterprise; Energy Performance Monitor to create energy baseline models and tracks savings from energy efficiency projects and finally Custom Analyser to provide flexible trend analysis to compare facilities, diagnose problems and report performance.

Live Guide experts are available to help building owners maximise the value of their applications as well as to provide guidance on how to act on the information.  This support is complemented by a portfolio of building and energy services from Johnson Controls to help customers implement the improvements identified with the Panoptix applications.   The Panoptix solution also provides an online community so users can connect with industry thought leaders, subject matter experts and colleagues to share experiences, news and best practices.

“This latest building efficiency offering provides a unique way to collect, analyse and interpret building data to help improve the performance of a building and its systems, increase occupant comfort and reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions,” adds Farnham.  “Technology trends such as cloud computing and the convergence of building automation and IT networks are providing building owners and operators with easier access  to the information to create buildings that work more efficiently.”

Johnson Controls has worked on a number of high profile projects in the region, including City Stars mixed-use facility and Cairo Festival City in Egypt; Burj Khalifa in Dubai; New Doha International Airport and Pearl Development in Qatar; Bahrain Bay Project; Kingdom and Faisaliah Towers, Jebel Al Qala, Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University for Women and expansion of the Holy Haram in Saudi Arabia.