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Wireless Logic was recently involved in developing an ambitious smart buildings programme for Carbon Intelligence, a sustainability data and consulting firm, that aids companies to move towards a zero-carbon economy and connect sustainable practices with business value.
Liam Rock, Senior Energy Performance Engineer at Carbon Intelligence, said: “Our goal was to design a full end-to-end monitoring solution for building management system (BMS) and using IoT sensors to monitor and track large volumes of data in a safe, secure manner. However, if we were to stream large volumes of data from buildings, via the cloud to our analytics platform, we realised that we’d need a knowledgeable IoT connectivity specialist to help realise our vision, which is why we partnered with Wireless Logic.”
Through extensive consultation with Wireless Logic, Carbon Intelligence came to appreciate how cellular connectivity was the solution to its challenge, as it removed the need to rely on fixed-lines for reliable connection between networks and devices. As a result, from the earliest stages of the smart buildings programme, Wireless Logic’s SIMPro platform was a key piece of Carbon Intelligence’s end-to-end solution, playing an integral part in how data was being monitored and handled. The fact that Wireless Logic is also ISO 27001 accredited gave Carbon Intelligence the reassurance that data security and processes would be adhered to throughout.
By combining IoT SIMs with a fixed IP address and an overlay virtual private network (VPN), Wireless Logic was able to create an infrastructure that enabled secure, smart, two-way connectivity, providing safe and secure data management. Incidentally, one of the first test buildings for the programme was the Wireless Logic headquarters in Hurley, UK where Carbon Intelligence were able to reduce carbon by 25%.
Using this infrastructure and CI’s technical expertise the programme has been highly successful reducing carbon emissions by in excess of 50,000 tonnes and a reduction of over £12 million of energy spend since 2018.
Mark Appleby, IoT Business Development Manager at Wireless Logic, says: “We’re currently seeing an expansion and convergence of smart building technologies both in the public and private sector. Where previously these systems were mainly used for security purposes, we will increasingly come to rely on these innovative technologies for cutting down on energy usage and reducing carbon emissions to drive sustainability.”
Liam Rock emphasises that, while the BMS and IoT solution was effectively phase one in Carbon Intelligence’s mission to redefine the way it manages infrastructure, IoT smart buildings represent the next step, whereby smart sensors are installed throughout buildings, enabling measurement of a wide range of technical parameters to help understand building behaviour.
Liam says: “The volume of data we stream out of buildings is going to grow exponentially in the years to come, not just in terms of the number of data points but also locations across the UK and beyond. Because of this, building design is going to evolve. We’re currently retrofitting smart designs into already existing buildings but going forward we are going to see systems such as ours factored into the project design. For Carbon Intelligence, this is an exciting opportunity to engage in multi-stakeholder collaboration at the inception stage of these projects and Wireless Logic will very much be a part of this process too.”
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