It hardly needs to be said that building and facility owners are concerned about expenses that result from the operation of the building or facility.  A critical expense at a facility is the energy bill.  The air-conditioning system is responsible for 50-60% of said energy bill at a facility.  If we are to reduce energy consumption, it is crucial to implement accurate remedies and place importance in optimising the air-conditioning system.  Plus Property has introduced a new technology to help with preventing energy loss at buildings and facilities.  The technology involves the pro-active use of IoT to monitor and control the HVAC system.  Under a partnership with TIE, distinctive techniques are employed to develop PLUS’s AIoT Platform.  The patented technology integrates the use of building systems engineering, digital IoT and proficient personnel.

What is PLUS’s IoT system and how does an AIoT platform contribute to greater efficiency?

PLUS’s IoT platform involves expanding on IoT (Internet of Things) and AI algorithm to give rise to an AIoT platform capable of diagnosing the causes of energy waste within an HVAC system.  The air-conditioning system is generally the top power consumer within a facility.  Said diagnosis makes use of Automated Fault Detection and Diagnosis (AFDD) to reveal the true causes of energy waste.  AFDD augments efficiency in the use of data provided by equipment and systems at a facility by linking the data feeds to AI.  The latter then analyses the data to accurately determine the causes of issues.  Diagnosis results are display via a mobile application so the facility manager can pinpoint the spot causing the problem.  This leads to precise solutions being implemented for said problem.  Damages are also reduced this way.  The AIoT platform can help increase energy saving by at least 15-30%, therefore reducing the energy bill.

Mr. Chan Sirirat, Deputy Managing Director of Facility Management Division, Plus Property Company Limited, the full-service professional property and facility management agency, revealed “From experiences spanning more than 25 years in facility management, we understand the complexity of building systems and facility owners’ wish to reduce energy loss.  We hypothesised about whether an office building under the management of PLUS which is a green building that has won the LEED NC (Gold) award and LEED EBOM (Platinum) award will be able to reduce energy use further.

This cutting-edge building is located in central Bangkok and emphasis has been placed on designs, maintenance and supervision that give the building uniqueness and enables efficient use of resources.  Emphasis was also given to reducing environmental impacts, in accordance with the Green Building concept and the global-standard certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).  The building has also been certified to comply with the Fitwel standard; it was awarded with the highest tier of 3 stars for quality of life of building users.  An important challenge for PLUS, in its capacity as a facility manager that is ever-engaged with developing new concepts, is to devise ways to reduce energy use at a building which has already won global-level awards.  This will be done via an AIoT Platform, which will be installed to measure the performance of the air-condition system.  The advantage of AIoT is the ease of installation.  No teardown or adjustments to the current system is required.  Data from the existing system will be linked and network IoT sensors will be installed to monitor performance.  The air-conditioning system involves regulating various properties of the air to suit requirements and appropriateness at each building.  The implementation of the AIoT Platform produced accurate diagnoses of issues causing energy waste.  Subsequent of the installation of the system by PLUS, energy saved during building use increased by 10%.  Furthermore, the air quality inside the building improved and became more in line with requirements.  It is also believed this will lead to reduced deterioration of the HVAC system in the building.”

PLUS’s facility management business involves continual development and implementation of new technology that is used in conjunction with management proficiency to address the requirements of building users.  PLUS currently manages facilities and complexes owned by banking and investment firms, hospital businesses, educational institutes and community malls.  It is ready to provide encompassing management service for all building types and continues to accept contracts for new projects.  Those interested in the service may call 02-688-7555 or look up additional information at www.plus.co.th/service/facility-management.